Premium
Phosphatidylethanol Levels Among Incarcerated Women: The Influence of Pre‐incarceration Alcohol Consumption and Length of Abstinence
Author(s) -
Moore Kelly E.,
Santiago Rivera Olga J.,
Anderson Bradley,
Johnson Jennifer E.,
Hahn Judith A.,
Kurth Megan E.,
Reddy Madhavi K.,
Schonbrun Yael C.,
Stein Michael D.
Publication year - 2018
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.13587
Subject(s) - phosphatidylethanol , abstinence , alcohol , medicine , alcohol consumption , confidence interval , odds ratio , logistic regression , alcohol intake , environmental health , psychiatry , chemistry , phospholipid , biochemistry , membrane , phosphatidylcholine
Background Phosphatidylethanol ( PE th) is a direct biomarker for alcohol that is formed shortly after alcohol use and may remain detectable in blood for weeks after alcohol consumption. There is little research on alcohol use factors that influence PE th elimination, especially among women. Methods Data were collected from 116 alcohol use‐disordered women who were recently incarcerated. We used a 2‐part model with logistic and linear components to examine whether alcohol consumption in the 2 weeks prior to incarceration and days since last alcoholic drink (operationalized as abstinence days prior to incarceration + days incarcerated) were associated with PE th detectability (>8 ng/ml) and level (ng/ml) in blood. Results Participants reported drinking an average of 10 drinks per day in the 2 weeks prior to incarceration. Days since last drink was negatively associated with PE th level (odds ratio [OR] = 0.97, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.93; 0.99) and being PE th detectable ( OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.91; 0.99). Quantity of alcohol consumed prior to jail admission was associated with PE th detection ( OR = 1.08; 95% CI = 1.03; 1.16), but not PE th level. Conclusions Days since last alcoholic drink and drinks per day both influenced PE th detectability, but only days since last drink predicted PE th level among a large sample of women with alcohol use disorder in the criminal justice system.