Exploring the utility of alcohol flushing as an instrumental variable for alcohol intake in Koreans.

ABSTRACT: Previous studies have indicated an association of higher alcohol intake with cardiovascular disease and related traits, but causation has not been definitively established. In this study, the causal effect of alcohol intake on hypertension in 2,011 men and women from the Ansan-Ansung cohort was estimated using an instrumental variable (IV) approach, with both a phenotypic and genotypic instrument for alcohol intake: alcohol flushing and the rs671 genotype (in the alcohol dehydrogenase 2 [ALDH2] gene), respectively. Both alcohol flushing and the rs671 genotype were associated with alcohol intake (difference in alcohol intake with alcohol flushers vs. non-flushers: -9.07 g/day; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -11.12, -7.02; P-value: 8.3 × 10^-18 and with the rs671 GA + AA vs. GG geno

SUBMITTER: Cho Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5765011 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature