Background: Alcoholics are prone to alcoholic cirrhosis (ALC). Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) is involved in alcohol metabolism. Herein, the relationship between ALDH2 genotypes and ALC was analyzed among Hakka alcoholics in southern China.
Methods: A total of 213 alcoholics and 214 non-alcoholics were included in the study. The ALDH2 gene rs671 polymorphism was analyzed, life history, disease history, and auxiliary examination results of these participants were collected.
Results: The alcoholics had higher level of total serum protein, and serum globulin, lower level of serum albumin, serum albumin/globulin ratio, serum prealbumin, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) than non-alcoholics. In the 213 alcoholics, 180 developed ALC. There were 206 non-ALC persons in the 214 non-alcoholics. The proportion of the ALDH2 rs671 G/G homozygous (*1/*1) was significantly lower in ALC patients (83.3%) than that of other groups (100.0% in non-ALC in alcoholics, 95.6% in non-ALC in non-alcoholics), while the proportion of the G/A heterozygous (*1/*2) was significantly higher in ALC patients (16.7%) than that of other groups (0% in non-ALC in alcoholics, 4.4% in non-ALC in non-alcoholics). Logistic regression analysis indicated that participants with low level of NLR (adjusted OR 5.543, 95% CI 2.964– 10.368, P < 0.001), LMR (adjusted OR 9.256, 95% CI 4.740– 18.076, P < 0.001), and PLR (adjusted OR 6.047, 95% CI 3.372– 10.845, P < 0.001), and ALDH2 G/A genotype (adjusted OR 6.323, 95% CI 2.477– 16.140, P < 0.001) had a significantly higher risk of ALC.
Conclusion: ALDH2 polymorphism rs671 *1/*2 genotype is a potential risk factor for the development of ALC among Hakka alcoholics.
Keywords: ALDH2, alcoholics, alcoholic liver cirrhosis, gene polymorphism, Hakka