Family history of alcoholism and the mediation of alcohol intake by catalase: further evidence for catalase as a marker of the propensity to ingest alcohol.

Earlier studies have suggested that catalase activity (CA) may represent a biological marker of alcohol intake in animals and in humans. An initial study was designed to rule out the possibility that CA is induced as a function of acute alcohol intake. Subjects (n = 80) were presented with either an alcohol (0.5 g/kg of body weight) or control solution, and asked to provide four 100-microliters blood samples at 0.0, 0.5, 2.0, and 24.0 hr. Results showed no differences in CA between individuals who had received alcohol, and controls, even when the effects of previous drinking history were covaried out. This lack of effect of acute alcohol intake on the possible induction of CA further supported the notion that CA may be a viable marker of alcohol intake, rather than the converse. In the second study, the relation between CA and alcohol intake was investigated in individuals with a family history (FH) of alcoholism (FH+), and in those without a family history of alcoholism (FH-). Subjects (n = 607) completed the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Questionnaire, the MacAndrew Scale, and the Concordia University Alcohol Screening Questionnaire; answered questions concerning their FH for alcoholism; and provided a 100-microliters blood sample. Results showed that FH+ individuals had higher mean CA compared with FH- individuals. When individuals with FH+ were compared with those with FH-, differences in the pattern of relation between CA and alcohol intake were observed. Although a significant relation between CA and alcohol intake was obtained for both FH- and FH+ individuals, this relation was significantly higher (p < 0.001) for individuals with FH+.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)