[The influence of six alcoholic beverages on ethanol concentration in the blood and breath].
BACKGROUND
We investigated the area under the curve (AUC) as a measure of the bioavailability of ethanol in healthy volunteers drinking six alcoholic beverages of different types. Furthermore, we investigated the correlation between the ethanol concentration in the blood and the breath test.


METHODS
Twelve healthy volunteers (seven females, five males) consumed six drinks of different types in a crossover design after a six-hour fast. The men ingested 36 g of ethanol and the women 24 g. Venous blood was obtained for determination of serum ethanol and glucose concentration at 0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 minutes postdosing, and at the same time a breath alcohol test was done using an alcoholometer.


RESULTS
The AUC of ethanol differed significantly between pure ethanol and the three beverages red wine, sparkling wine and Smirnoff Ice (p < 0.01). The glucose and insulin concentrations increased by factors of 2 and 4, respectively, 60 minutes after drinking beer or Smirnoff Ice, respectively (p < 0.05). We found a high correlation between the ethanol concentration in the blood and the breath test, r 2 = 0.77, r = 0.87 (p < 0.005). Using the blood alcohol concentration as a "gold standard", we found that the risk of obtaining a false- positive breath test was 1% at the legal limit for driving in Denmark (0.5%). Conversely, 59% of the participants with a blood alcohol level > or = 0.5% showed a negative (false negative).


CONCLUSIONS
This investigation shows that the type of alcoholic beverage consumed determines the amount of alcohol absorbed. Furthermore, the different drinks caused different changes in the glucose and insulin concentrations, which might be important in connection with alcohol-induced disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism (e.g., hypo- and hyperglycaemia). Our data indicate that the alcoholometer breath test was an acceptable screening method to estimate the blood alcohol level and to measure the amount of ethanol ingested. However, for evidental purposes during prosecution of drunk drivers, more sophisticated breath test instruments are desirable.
Medicinsk Afdeling, Vejle Sygehus, DK-7100 Vejle. henhey@vgs.vejleamt.dk.
Henrik
H
Hey
Peter
P
Haslund-Vinding
D000328:Adult; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001515:Beer; D001682:Biological Availability; D001944:Breath Tests; D000431:Ethanol / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors; D014920:Wine
D000431:Ethanol