Differences in Acute Response to Alcohol Between A frican A mericans and E uropean A mericans

Background Response to alcohol is a widely studied risk factor and potential endophenotype for alcohol use disorders. Research on A frican A merican response to alcohol has been limited despite large differences in alcohol use between A frican A mericans and E uropean A mericans. Extending our previous work on the A frican A merican portion of this sample, the current study examined differences in acute subjective response to alcohol between A frican A mericans and E uropean A mericans. Additionally, we tested whether the association between response to alcohol and past month drinking behavior and alcohol‐related problems differed across race. Methods One hundred and seventy‐eight participants (mean age = 21.87, SD = 1.23; 57% A frican A merican) who were moderate to heavy social drinkers completed an alcohol administration study in a laboratory setting, receiving a moderate dose of alcohol (0.72 g/kg alcohol for men, 0.65 g/kg for women). Acute alcohol response was measured at 8 time points (i.e., baseline, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 150 minutes). Results Latent growth curve models showed that A frican A mericans experienced sharper increases in stimulation on the ascending limb compared to E uropean A mericans. A frican A merican women experienced sharper increases in sedation on the ascending limb compared to E uropean A merican women. Change in sedation on the ascending limb was associated with past month drinking behavior. Stimulation on the ascending limb was related to alcohol problems for A frican A mericans but not E uropean A mericans. Conclusions We found differences in response to alcohol across racial groups: A frican A mericans showed a stronger response to alcohol. Future studies are needed to incorporate response to alcohol into a larger model of A frican A merican alcohol use.