Evaluation of the self-rating of the effects of alcohol form in Asian Americans with aldehyde dehydrogenase polymorphisms

Objective: In order to easily assess individual differences in response to alcohol, the Self-Rating of the Effects of Alcohol (SRE) form was recently developed and its psychometric properties tested in primarily white subject s. This study aimed to further evaluate the SRE in a population known to ha ve genetically mediated variability in response to alcohol and risk for alc oholism, Asian Americans with ALDH2 polymorphisms. Method: Men and women of Chinese, Japanese or Korean heritage between the ages of 21 and 26 years ( N = 156) completed the SRE and a blood sample was drawn for genotyping at t he ALDH2 locus. Results: SRE results were available from 137 (78 female) su bjects. With the effects of gender, body weight, frequency of recent drinki ng and quantity of recent drinking controlled, ALDH2 genotype still account ed for a significant amount of variability in SRE score in this Asian-Ameri can sample. Evaluation of SRE scores 4.5 or higher indicated that a low res ponse to alcohol was associated with ALDH2*1/2*1 genotype, male gender and Korean heritage, all factors associated with increased risk for alcoholism. Conclusions: These results provide additional support for the SRE as a val id instrument for assessing individual variability in response to alcohol a nd as a useful measure for identifying individuals at relatively increased or decreased risk for alcoholism based on level of reaction to alcohol.