title: Breath alcohol elimination rate and Widmark factor derived from breath alcohol concentration in Chinese and Indians in Singapore.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the breath alcohol elimination rate (AER) and Widmark factor derived from the maximum breath alcohol concentration (r(peak BrAC)) in Chinese and Indians in Singapore, and to evaluate the contribution of genetic and non-genetic factors to variability of AER and r(peak BrAC).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 180 subjects ingested a vodka-orange juice mixture, together with a standardized meal and underwent a series of BrAC measurements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant inter-ethnic differences in AER and r(peak BrAC) were observed in females and males, respectively. Alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (ADH1B) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) genotypes were identified as significant predictors for AER among males, accounting for 8.5% (P = 0.048) and 23.4% (P < 0.001) of the variance, respectively. ADH1B genotype was identified as a significant predictor for r(peak BrAC) among males, accounting for 17.1% of the variance (P = 0.001). In females, however, none of the genotypes were found to be significant predictors for breath AER, and r(peak BrAC).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ALDH2 and/or ADH1B genotypes in males, but not in females, appear to contribute, albeit modestly, to variability in AER and r(peak BrAC). The median AER in Chinese males, Indian males, Chinese females and Indian females is 6.6 μg dl(-1) h(-1) [99% confidence interval (CI), 5.6-7.5 μg dl(-1) h(-1)], 6.2 μg dl(-1) h(-1) (99% CI, 5.5-7.0 μg dl(-1) h(-1)), 8.6 μg dl(-1) h(-1) (99% CI, 7.4-9.7 μg dl(-1) h(-1)) and 7.4 μg dl(-1 )h(-1) (99% CI, 6.2-8.4 μg dl(-1) h(-1)), respectively. The median r(peak BrAC) in Chinese males, Indian males, Chinese females and Indian females is 0.0229 (99% CI, 0.0216-0.0268), 0.0209 (99% CI, 0.0190-0.0237), 0.0214 (99% CI, 0.0185-0.0254) and 0.0199 (99% CI, 0.0187-0.0227), respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Clinical Research Centre, Singapore.
authors.forename: Lie Michael George
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Limenta
authors.forename: Yee Jie
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Derrick
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Heng
authors.forename: Edmund Jon Deoon
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics*; D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics*; D000071396:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial; D001944:Breath Tests; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D012846:Singapore
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol; C489332:ADH1B protein, human; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase; C096127:ALDH2 protein, human; D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase; D000071396:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial