Premium
International Review Series: Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Research 2. Japan
Author(s) -
Suwaki Hiroshi
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
british journal of addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0952-0481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1985.tb03262.x
Subject(s) - medicine , acetaldehyde , alcohol , population , alcoholic liver disease , flushing , liver disease , incidence (geometry) , disease , alcohol abuse , alcoholic hepatitis , ethanol , psychiatry , environmental health , cirrhosis , endocrinology , biology , biochemistry , physics , optics
Summary In Japan, alcohol consumption and alcohol‐related problems have rapidly increased since the industrial development after World War II, and in 1980, 1.9 per cent of the total Japanese population were estimated to be heavy drinkers, while 6‐per cent of psychiatric beds were occupied by alcoholics. The number of women alcoholics and incidence of the fetal alcohol syndrome are, however, extremely low in Japan mainly due to cultural restraints on drinking in women. The ratio of alcoholic liver disease to total liver disease was 10.7 per cent in a nationwide survey in 1977, and high percentages of hepatic fibrosis and mild alcoholic hepatitis were the chief histological features of Japanese alcoholic liver disease. Racial and individual differences in the alcohol flushing response are of interest, and half of the Japanese exhibit facial flushing after drinking a small amount of alcohol. Japanese subjects with a low Km deficient isozyme of ALDH showed a high level of blood acetaldehyde and facial flushing. Danushukai, Cyanamide and Naikan Therapy have had the greatest impact on the development of alcoholism treatment in Japan. Regarding mortality among alcoholics, liver disease, suicide, accidents and cerebro‐vascular disease showed higher death rates than in the general population.