Malt Liquor Preference-Pharmacokinetics in Afri-American

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Alcoholism produces social, environmental and medical outcomes in African Americans with devastating economic consequences. The overall goal of the proposed research is to determine the relationship between high alcohol content malt Beverages and the contribution such beverages make to increased consumption patterns among urban African Americans, a study population previously under represented in most research activities. The significance of malt liquor as a contributing specific factor in alcoholism or alcohol abuse has not been studied to any significant degree in any population. The study design addresses three important questions: How is the consumption of malt liquor associated with the onset of drinking, psycho-social phenotypes and the development of alcohol problems, including alcohol abuse and dependence. Are there differences in malt liquor consumption patterns related to age, and socioeconomic status? Are there pharmacokinetic differences in alcohol absorption and/or elimination following the oral ingestion of malt liquors? Two Specific Aims are proposed: (1) Using a population-based study design, identify specific user characteristics related to alcohol beverage preferences including use frequency and consumption levels, economic, psychosocial, behavioral and environmental factors, and ADH genotype among a cohort of 300 urban African American males with specific emphasis on the relationship of malt alcoholic beverage preference to these factors. The contribution of factors such as advertising, tobacco use and spirituality in the development of malt liquor preference will also be explored. From these data, a clinical phenotype of an active dependent and non-dependent user of these beverages will be identified, and (2) Using a cross-over study design, sixty healthy non-alcohol dependent African American males, age 21-25 will be recruited to determine and quantify biological differences in alcohol pharmacokinetics following the acute oral consumption of regular beer and/or malt liquors of varying alcohol concentrations, using an oral alcohol challenge model containing internal controls designed to reduce subject variability. The rationale for the proposed study is strengthened by the availability of numerous well developed subject recruitment sites, an existing scientific and administrative team to meet the challenge of recruiting a large ethnically homogenous cohort, substantial existing training/experience in the administration of similar test instruments and clinical procedures, availability of a NIH funded GCRC with the ability to support the oral alcohol challenge studies, and the administrative and scientific infrastructure of a NIAAA Collaborative Alcohol Research Center. From these studies, our understanding of the critical factors influencing the preference for malt liquor will be identified and the biological basis for the presumed differences in alcohol pharmacokinetics will be described.