Genetic Variation in Alcohol Dehydrogenase and the Beneficial Effect of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

Background A polymorphism in the gene for alcohol dehydrogenase type 3 (ADH3 ) alters the rate of alcohol metabolism. We investigated the relation among the ADH3 polymorphism, the level of alcohol consumption, and the risk of myocardial infarction in a nested case–control study based on data from the prospective Physicians' Health Study. Methods We identified 396 patients with eligible newly diagnosed cases of myocardial infarction among men in the Physicians' Health Study. Of these patients, 374 were matched with 2 randomly selected control subjects each and the remaining 22 with 1 control each (total, 770 controls). The ADH3 genotype (γ1γ1, γ1γ2, or γ2γ2) was determined in all subjects. We examined the relations among the level of alcohol intake, the ADH3 genotype, and plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels in this study population and in a similar cohort of women. Results As compared with homozygosity for the allele associated with a fast rate of ethanol oxidation (γ1), homozygosity for the allel...