The role of aldehyde dehydrogenase-1 (ALDH1A1) polymorphisms in harmful alcohol consumption in a Finnish population

Table 1 Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) response, mean and standard deviation per item, in the Finnish control drinkers, problem drinkers and treated alcohol-dependent groups, based on AUDIT score and/or alcohol treatment status

Item	Assessment	AUDIT item description^a	Controls^b	Problem drinkers^c	Treated alcoholics^d
-	Subjects(n)	-	105	64	104
-	Clinically treated for alcoholism	-	0	0	100%
1	Hazardous alcohol consumption	Frequency of drinking days	2.5 ± 1.0	3.4 ± 0.8	3.1 ± 1.0
2	Hazardous alcohol consumption	Average number of drinks per session	1.1 ± 1.1	3.4 ± 10.8	3.4 ± 1.1
3	Hazardous alcohol consumption	Frequency of six or more drinks	1.4 ± 0.8	3.4 ± 0.7	3.0 ± 1.0
4	Dependence symptoms	Impaired control over drinking	0.1 ± 0.3	2.6 ± 1.2	2.3 ± 1.4
5	Dependence symptoms	Increased salience of drinking	0.1 ± 0.3	2.0 ± 1.2	2.3 ± 1.3
6	Dependence symptoms	Morning drinking	0.1 ± 0.3	2.6 ± 1.3	2.7 ± 1.3
7	Alcohol-related problems	Guilt after drinking	0.5 ± 0.6	2.9 ± 1.2	2.7 ± 1.4
8	Alcohol-related problems	Alcohol-related blackouts	0.4 ± 0.5	2.4 ± 1.2	2.4 ± 1.3
9	Alcohol-related problems	Alcohol-related injuries	0.2 ± 0.7	2.2 ± 1.5	2.6 ± 1.5
10	Alcohol-related problems	Others concerned about drinking	0.0 ± 0.4	3.4 ± 0.9	3.6 ± 0.9
-	Hazardous/harmful alcohol use^e	AUDIT score (sum of items)	6.3 ± 3.1	28.3 ± 5.4	27.7 ± 8.4

^aAll AUDIT items, except questions 9 and 10, are confined to previous year.
^bThe Finnish population consists of alcoholic subjects recruited from alcohol treatment facilities (n = 104) and volunteer subjects from the general population that includes control drinkers (n = 105), hazardous drinkers (n = 32) and problem drinkers, as defined by the AUDIT (n = 64). Control drinkers had an AUDIT score ≤12 and had consumed alcohol in the previous year.
^cProblem drinkers have an AUDIT score ≥20 but were not recruited from alcohol treatment facilities.
^dTreated alcoholics were recruited from alcohol treatment facilities.
^eAn AUDIT score ≥12 indicates a pattern of hazardous consumption, while an AUDIT score ≥20 suggests that the subject is alcohol dependent¹³.

ISSN: 1479-7364