1. Variations in alcohol-metabolizing enzymes in people of East Indian and African descent from Trinidad and Tobago.
- Author
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Moore S, Montane-Jaime LK, Carr LG, and Ehlers CL
- Subjects
- Alcohol Dehydrogenase metabolism, Alcoholism enzymology, Alcoholism genetics, Aldehyde Dehydrogenase metabolism, Gene Frequency, Genetic Predisposition to Disease ethnology, Genetic Variation, Humans, Trinidad and Tobago epidemiology, Alcohol Dehydrogenase genetics, Alcoholism ethnology, Aldehyde Dehydrogenase genetics, Asian People genetics, Black People genetics, Ethanol metabolism
- Abstract
The population of Trinidad and Tobago is composed mainly of people of East Indian (Indo-Trinidadians) and African (Afro-Trinidadians) ancestry. Differences in alcoholism rates exist between these two ethnic groups, and researchers have investigated whether these differences can be explained in part by variations in the genes encoding the alcohol-metabolizing enzymes alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) 1B and 1C, and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) 1 and 2. Studies have demonstrated that a certain variant of the gene encoding ADH1B (ADH1B*3) is associated with a reduced risk of alcoholism in Afro-Trinidadians, as is a variant of the gene encoding ADH1C (i.e., ADH1C*1) in Indo-Trinidadians. An ALDH2 variant shown to have protective effects primarily in East Asians was not found in either Trinidadian ethnic group. However, a variant in the gene encoding cytosolic ALDH1A (i.e. ALDH1A1*1/*2) was found to be associated with an increase in alcohol dependence in Indo-Trinidadians.
- Published
- 2007