Distribution of alcohol-metabolizing enzyme genotypes in trauma patients with excessive alcohol consumption in the emergency department.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to investigate the distribution of genetic polymorphisms of alcohol-metabolizing enzymes in trauma patients with excessive alcohol consumption in the emergency department (ED).


METHODS
A total of 100 trauma patients and age-matched control subjects composed of 98 participants were enrolled in this study. The activities of liver enzymes and genotypes of alcohol-metabolizing enzymes, including ADH2, ALDH2, and CYP2E1, were analyzed with the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis.


RESULTS
There was a significant difference in the allele frequencies of ALDH2 between the two groups. For the genotypes, there were significant differences in the genotype frequencies of ADH2 and ALDH2. There was also a significantly lower frequency in patients with the ALDH2*2 phenotype than those of the controls. For the activities of liver enzymes, there were significant differences between the two groups. For ADH2 and ALDH2, there were significantly higher ORs (odds ratios) in trauma patients with normal activity than those with weak or intermediate activity but there were no significant difference in CYP2E1 genotype between two groups. To investigate the interaction of alcohol-metabolizing enzyme genotypes, we have estimated the odds ratios in two alcohol-metabolizing pathways. The ORs of the combined genotypes of ADH2 (*1/*1+*1/*2) and ALDH2 (*1/*1) and the combined genotypes of either CYP2E1 (*c1/*c1) or CYP2E1 (*c1/*c2+*c2/*c2) and ALDH2 (*1/*1) were significantly higher than that of the reference group in the major and the minor pathway, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Genetic variation of alcohol-metabolizing enzymes, especially ALDH2, may play an important role on the occasions of alcohol problems in the emergency department.
Tseng
Yang-Ming
YM
Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80702, Taiwan.
Hu
Bow-Wen
BW
Tsai
Shih-Meng
SM
Chen
Ing-Jun
IJ
Jin
Yi-Ru
YR
Lee
Jang-Hwa
JH
Huang
Fong-Dee
FD
Wu
Szu-Hsien
SH
Yeh
Fa-Lai
FL
Tsai
Li-Yu
LY
D000328:Adult; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000235:genetics*; D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics*; D019392:Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1 / Q000235:genetics*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase; D019392:Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1; D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase