title: Phosphatidylethanol Compared with Other Blood Tests as a Biomarker of Moderate Alcohol Consumption in Healthy Volunteers: A Prospective Randomized Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  It is generally agreed that traditional alcohol biomarkers lack in sensitivity to detect hazardous alcohol consumption. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the ability of phosphatidylethanol (PEth) and traditional alcohol markers to detect moderate alcohol consumption and to distinguish between moderate alcohol consumption and abstinence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-four subjects, 32 females and 12 males, were included in the study. They were randomized to alcohol abstention or to alcohol consumption. Female participants consumed 150 ml of red wine (equivalent to 16 g of alcohol) per 24 h and the male participants double the amount. The study lasted for 3 months. Blood samples were drawn at the start and at the end of the study period. Blood samples were analysed for PEth, carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  ROC curves for the various biochemical markers were plotted in order to assess their ability to discriminate between abstention and moderate daily consumption of alcohol. PEth and CDT were the only markers with AUROCs significantly higher than 0.5, and PEth was detected in all participants randomized to alcohol consumption.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PEth was the only marker that could detect moderate intake and the present results also indicate that PEth probably can distinguish moderate alcohol consumption from abstinence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden stergios.kechagias@liu.se.
authors.forename: Stergios
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kechagias
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Chemistry, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Dženeta Nezirević
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Dernroth
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blomgren
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Therese
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hansson
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Isaksson
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Walther
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden Department of Forensic Genetics and Forensic Toxicology, National Board of Forensic Medicine, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kronstrand
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Chemistry, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Bertil
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kågedal
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Fredrik H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Nystrom
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D064829:Alcohol Abstinence; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood*; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D004909:Erythrocyte Indices; D005260:Female; D020404:Glycerophospholipids / Q000097:blood*; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods; D014168:Transferrin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D020404:Glycerophospholipids; D014168:Transferrin; C056759:carbohydrate-deficient transferrin; C051521:phosphatidylethanol; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase