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Age of Drinking Initiation as a Risk Factor for Alcohol Use Disorder Symptoms is Moderated by ALDH 2*2 and Ethnicity
Author(s) -
Luczak Susan E.,
Liang Tiebing,
Wall Tamara L.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/acer.13469
Subject(s) - aldh2 , ethnic group , alcohol use disorder , moderation , medicine , alcohol , risk factor , clinical psychology , psychology , demography , allele , genetics , social psychology , gene , biochemistry , chemistry , sociology , biology , anthropology
Background An early age of drinking initiation ( ADI ) has been associated with increased risk for alcohol use disorders ( AUD s), but the consistency of this risk across diverse samples has not been well studied. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the pathway from ADI to AUD symptoms by early adulthood is moderated by ethnicity and possessing an alcohol‐metabolizing gene ALDH 2*2 variant allele. Methods We used multigroup structural equation modeling, including 5 groups split by ethnicity and ALDH 2*2 , to examine the consistency of the path from ADI to AUD symptoms in 604 Chinese‐, Korean‐, and White‐American college students. We further examined the effects of ALDH 2*2, ethnicity, and their interaction in Asians to better understand their unique contributions to the moderation. Results The association between ADI and AUD symptoms was moderated, with ADI negatively associated with AUD symptoms among Koreans without ALDH 2*2 and Whites, but not among Koreans with ALDH 2*2 or Chinese regardless of ALDH 2*2 . Both ALDH 2*2 and ethnicity within Asians contributed unique variability in the effect. Conclusions Ethnicity and ALDH 2*2 altered the relationship of ADI as a risk factor for AUD symptoms. Being Chinese and possessing an ALDH 2*2 allele within Koreans both buffered against the risk for AUD symptoms associated with earlier ADI , indicating that this relationship can be attenuated by protective factors.