Around 80 percent of Asian people (less common in Thailand and India) have a variant of the gene coding for the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase called
ADH1B, whereas almost all Japanese, Chinese, and Korean people have a variant of the gene called ADH1C, both resulting in an alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme that converts alcohol to toxic acetaldehyde at a much higher efficiency than other gene variants from Caucasians.
Genetic variation in alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH1A,
ADH1B, ADH1C, ADH7) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2), alcohol consumption and gastric cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.
As a result, there is a total of 46 tag SNPs from the 127 reported SNPs of the three key alcoholmetabolism genes (
aDh1B, ALDH2, and CYP2E1) [34-36].
Agundez, "Variability in ethanol biodisposition in whites is modulated by polymorphisms in the
ADH1B and ADH1C genes," Hepatology, vol.
Genome-wide association studies have identified numerous genes that contribute to drug abuse including CHRNA3-5 for nicotine dependence and
ADH1B and ADH1C genes for alcohol dependence.
Telomere shortening in the esophagus of Japanese alcoholics: relationships with chromoendoscopic findings, ALDH2 and
ADH1B genotypes and smoking history.
The variation in alcohol elimination and the oxidation of acetaldehyde, genetically determined alcohol dehydrogenase 1-3 (before named ADH1A,
ADH1B and ADH1C) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) plays a major role in the pathogenesis of the clinical syndrome.
The rates of metabolic pathways responsible for converting alcohol to acetaldehyde and acetaldehyde to acetate are mostly influenced by functional polymorphisms on
ADH1B (previously called ADH2), ADH1C (previously called ADH3),andALDH2 [5-7].
They looked especially at those with a key variant of a gene called
ADH1B.
ey found that people who carried a certain genetic variant associated with non-drinking and lower alcohol consumption had a "more favourable cardiovascular pro'le" than those without the
ADH1B variant.
The human ADH genes,
ADH1B and ADH1C were found to have alleles that produce enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde.