An investigation of associations between alcohol use disorder and polymorphisms on ALDH2, BDNF, 5-HTTLPR, and MTHFR genes in older Korean men.
BACKGROUND
This study aimed to investigate the association of alcohol use disorder (AUD) with four candidate genes in older Korean men: aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2, 1/2), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF, val66met), serotonin transporter gene linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR, s/l), and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR, c.677C > T).


METHODS
A community sample of 300 men aged 65 or over were categorized into 68 subjects with AUD and 232 controls according to clinical examinations and DSM-IV criteria. Genotype distributions and allele frequencies were compared.


RESULTS
Men with AUD had significantly higher ALDH2*1 and BDNF met allele frequencies compared to controls (p-values < 0.05). No significant differences in genotype or allele frequencies were found for 5-HTTLPR or MTHFR (p-values > 0.3).


CONCLUSIONS
AUD was associated with ALDH2*1 and BDNF met alleles in older Korean men. The first is consistent with previous research and likely to be explained by a protective effect of unpleasant symptoms following alcohol consumption associated with ALDH2*2. The second finding is novel and might be accounted for by BDNF-mediated serotonin or dopamine pathways. However, given the relatively small sample size, the results should be regarded as preliminary and requiring independent replication.
Shin
Sangmoon
S
Department of Psychiatry, Gwangju Mirae Hospital, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Stewart
Robert
R
Ferri
Cleusa P
CP
Kim
Jae-Min
JM
Shin
Il-Seon
IS
Kim
Sung-Wan
SW
Yang
Su-Jin
SJ
Yoon
Jin-Sang
JS
D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics*; D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics*; D000071396:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial; D000483:Alleles; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D042965:Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2) / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D056910:Republic of Korea; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; C096127:ALDH2 protein, human; D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase; D000071396:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial; D042965:Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2)