Relationship between blood catalase activity and drinking history in a human population, a possible biological marker of the affinity to consume alcohol

Abstract

The relationship between blood catalase activity and alcohol consumption was investigated in a group of Caucasian volunteers (N = 191). Subjects individually attended a 1-hr session, during which they were asked to complete the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) and MacAndrew Scale (MAC), supply information on alcohol consumption (averaged over the most recent and typical 30-day periods: Recent and Typical Q-Values) and other drug use by answering the Concordia Alcohol Screening Questionnaire (CASQ), and provide a 100-μl blood sample from the fingertip. Results showed a significant positive relationship between typical Q-Value and catalase activity (r = 0.43, P < 0.001), which improved after eliminating multiple drug users from the analysis (r = 0.65, P < 0.001). Multiple regression analyses showed that catalase activity combined with being male, using cocaine or crack, scoring highly on the MAC scale and having alcohol-related problems (MAST), explained a significant portion of the variance in Typical Q-Value. These results support the notion that catalase activity is a strong positive determinant of alcohol intake and support the hypothesis that the enzyme catalase plays a role in regulating voluntary ethanol consumption. © 1992 Medical Council on Alcoholism.