Aims
To analyse associations between alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) polymorphisms and alcohol intake in Spanish men and women.
Design and settings
We analyzed the relationship between 21 genetic variants in ADH genes and excessive alcohol intake in both men and women. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped using a customized array and sex-stratified analysis was performed.
Measurements
Ethanol intake was calculated using a validated dietary history questionnaire.
Participants
Heavy consumers of alcohol (≥70 g/day in men, ≥42 g/day in women) (653 cases) and very low or non-consumers (<2 g/day) (880 controls) from the Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC).
Findings
We found statistically significant associations between alcohol intake and known lifestyle factors, namely, smoking and food energy intake (meat and fruit/seeds) in both men and women; as well as with physical activity in women and educational level in men. Additionally, we found that a non-synonymous coding SNP in ADH1B (rs1229984) is inversely associated with excessive alcohol intake in men (OR= 0.19, 95%CI=0.11-0.33; p=4.8E-10) and women (OR= 0.48, 95%CI=0.27-0.83; p=0.0067). Furthermore, ADH6 rs3857224 was found associated with heavy alcohol intake in women (OR=1.61, 95%CI=1.21-2.14; p=1.01E-3), but not in men.
Conclusions
In the Spanish population, the single nucleotide polymorphism of alcohol dehydrogenase ADH1B, rs1229984, is inversely associated with alcohol intake in both men and women. Another polymorhphism of ADH6, rs3857224, is associated with heavy alcohol intake, in women