Hangover symptoms in Asian Americans with variations in the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) gene

Objective; Hangovers are nor experienced by all people and whether they con tribute to the development of alcoholism is unclear. One population that mi ght provide some insight into the role of hangover in the:etiology of alcoh ol use disorders is that of individuals of Asian heritage. Certain Asians h ave lower rates of alcohol use acid alcoholism, findings associated with a mutation in the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) gene. Asians with ALDH2*2 al leles drink less and are less likely to be alcoholic than Asians without th is mutation. Following alcohol ingestion, they exhibit more intense reactio ns to alcohol and generate higher levels of the metabolite acetaldehyde. Th is study evaluated hangover symptoms in Asian Americans with variations in the ALDH2 gene, Method: Men and women of Chinese, Japanese and Korean herit age (N = 140) were asked about their drinking history and a blood sample wa s collected for genotyping at the ALDH2 locus. Subjects used a Likert-type scale to estimate their severity of hangover and completed a 13-item hangov er scale assessing the frequency of hangover symptoms during the previous 6 months. Results: With abstainers (n = 17) excluded and with the effects of gender and recent drinking history controlled, ALDH2 genotype accounted fo r a significant amount of additional variability in the estimated severity of hangover score with a similar, but nonsignificant, trend for a five-item subscale score derived From the hangover scale. Conclusions: These results suggest that Asian Americans with ALDH2*2 alleles may experience more seve re hangovers that may contribute, in part, to protection against the develo pment of excessive or problematic drinking in this population.