To evaluate the association between genetic alcohol sensitivity (ADH1B and ALDH2 polymorphisms) and mental disorders.

A total of 1945 prefectural civil servants were screened and interviewed regarding their mental disorders by the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The mental disorders include major depressive disorder, dysthymia, suicidal risk, manic episode, panic disorder, agora phobia, social phobia, specific phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, general anxiety disorder, alcohol dependence/abuse, substance dependence/abuse, anorexia nervosa, anorexia bulimia, and PTSD. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples. TaqMan? SNP genotyping assays were used for the following (gene, SNP, assay ID): ADH1B, rs1229984, C_2688467_20; ALDH2, rs671, C_11703892_10. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate those genetic polymorphisms and mental disorders adjusting for sex, age, and job rank.

Alcohol sensitivity was genetically classified into five domains according to the combination of ADH1B and ALDH2 genotypes (type A, B, C, D and E). Preliminary analysis using 497 samples showed that low alcohol sensitivity (type A and B combined) was significantly associated with alcohol dependence/abuse (OR 2.71, 95% CI 1.44-5.10) compared to high sensitivity (type C, D, and E combined). Low alcohol sensitivity also showed non-significant modest association with any mental disorders except alcohol-related disorders (OR 1.99, 95% CI 0.72-5.48).

Low alcohol sensitivity might be associated with mental disorders, especially with alcohol-related disorders. Since the analysis has not been finished yet, the complete results will be shown in the congress.