title: Inactive aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 worsens glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who drink low to moderate amounts of alcohol.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alcohol intake can have hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic effects in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The present study was designed to investigate the glycemic control of male patients with diabetes mellitus from the aspect of the genetic status of alcohol metabolism.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred sixty-three men with type 2 diabetes mellitus were enrolled in the present study. They were all outpatients at the Diabetes Center of Saiseikai Central Hospital. The genotype of the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene of each patient was determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), and the patients were divided into those with active or inactive ALDH2 phenotype. We compared the amount of habitual alcohol intake and clinical data that included physical findings and blood chemistry of the patients in the active and inactive ALDH2 groups. The glycemic control of each patient was evaluated by the serum level of HbAlc.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 163 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, 90 patients had the active ALDH2 phenotype and 73 patients had the inactive ALDH2 phenotype. The mean HbA1c level of the active ALDH2 group was nearly the same as that of the inactive ALDH2 group. However, the HbA1c level of the light-to-moderate drinkers (1-400 g/week) in the inactive ALDH2 group was highest and was significantly higher than the HbA1c level of the light-to-moderate drinkers of the active ALDH2 group. The HbA1c of the patients with diabetic complications was higher than the HbAlc of those without diabetic complications in both the active and inactive ALDH2 groups. However, the HbA1c level of the light-to-moderate drinkers without diabetic complications in the inactive ALDH2 group was significantly higher and the incidence of 24 hr urinary C-peptide was higher than the respective level of the light-to-moderate drinkers without diabetic complications in the active ALDH2 group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Habitual light-to-moderate alcohol intake worsens glycemic control in diabetic patients who have the inactive ALDH2 phenotype. The data on 24 hr urinary C-peptide level suggested that increased acetaldehyde after light-to-moderate drinking by inactive ALDH2 diabetic patients may increase the HbA1c value by the insulin-resistant condition that resulted in hyperinsulinemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Saiseikai Central Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. chisato-@gd5.so-net.ne.jp
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Muramatsu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taniyama
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Atsumi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Okazaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics*; D000071396:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D002096:C-Peptide / Q000652:urine; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000201:enzymology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000652:urine; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005838:Genotype; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
chemical_list: D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase; D000071396:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial; D001786:Blood Glucose; D002096:C-Peptide; D000431:Ethanol; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; C096127:ALDH2 protein, human