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Clinical Correlations with Carbohydrate‐Deficient Transferrin Levels in women with Alcoholism
Author(s) -
Oslin David W.,
Pettinati Helen M.,
Luck Gary,
Semwanga Ann,
Cnaan Avital,
O'Brien Charles P.
Publication year - 1998
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/j.1530-0277.1998.tb05906.x
Subject(s) - carbohydrate deficient transferrin , heavy drinking , medicine , transferrin , physiology , alcohol , alcohol intake , alcohol dependence , poison control , environmental health , injury prevention , alcohol consumption , biology , biochemistry
Carbohydrate‐deficient transferrin (CDT) has received increasing attention as a potential biological marker for heavy drinking or as an objective marker of relapse in patients who are treated for alcohol dependence. Previous studies have demonstrated the utility of CDT among men, but there are fewer and inconsistent reports on the utility of CDT among women. This study reports in a sample of 40 alcohol‐dependent women, the association between CDT levels, and several different types of measures of drinking intensity including frequency of heavy drinking. Although the majority of drinking indices correlated with CDT levels in men, among women, CDT levels were significantly correlated with the percentage of days of heavy drinking when heavy drinking day was defined as drinking 6 or more drinks per drinking day. The results also support an association between current menstrual function, CDT levels, and drinking indices. These findings suggest that the pattern of drinking (combining high frequency and high intensity) may be an important determinant of CDT levels in women with alcohol dependence, compared with men.