Alcohol Use and Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

Certain
minority groups, compared with other minority and non-minority
groups, are more severely affected by alcohol use. Participants
in a workshop on alcohol use and racial and ethnic health differences,
sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,
concluded that interactions between alcohol, genes, and environment
contribute to health disparities.

• Different
  populations exhibit genetic variations in alcohol-metabolizing
  enzymes, and these variations may contribute to differences in
  alcohol-related health outcomes.
• African Americans and Native Americans, compared with
  Whites, have a greater incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome
  and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, possibly due to
  genetic polymorphisms and nutrition.
• White Hispanic
  men have the highest mortality rate from cirrhosis.
• Mexican Americans
  have a gene allelic profile that may confer increased risk of
  alcohol dependence.
• African Americans, compared with Whites, have a higher
  incidence of some cancers, which may be partly due to
  heavy drinking.

Comments:

This

paper confirms that our understanding of racial and ethnic

disparities in alcohol-related health consequences is progressing,

but we still have much to learn. Through better understanding,
we may ultimately develop diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic
methods to decrease these disparities.

Kevin
L. Kraemer, MD, MSc

Reference:

Russo D, Purohit V,
Foudin L, et al. Workshop on alcohol use and health disparities 2002:
a call to arms. Alcohol. 2004;32(1):37-43.
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