TRYPTOPHAN AND NATIVE AMERICAN ALCOHOLISM

申请者摘要：酗酒是发病和死亡的主要原因 美国农村土著居民的死亡率。研究表明两者之间存在联系 与酗酒有关的问题的易感性和低 脑部5-羟色胺水平。脑内5-羟色胺降低的潜在因素 低水平的饮食摄入量是必需的氨基酸色氨酸， 5-羟色胺的天然前体。饮食研究报告美国原住民饮食 碳水化合物和脂肪含量高，优质蛋白质含量低。低摄入量 在将色氨酸转化为5-羟色胺的微量营养素中， 据报道。我们假设美洲原住民人口可能处于危险之中 与酒精有关的问题，因为色氨酸摄入不足或 将其转化为5-羟色胺的微量营养素。 这项初步研究将随机抽取30名成年美洲原住民 居住在俄克拉何马州卡多县的男性和30名成年美洲原住民女性。 将对24小时饮食召回进行分析，以量化总蛋白质和 并提供有关色氨酸消费的定性数据。 食物频率问卷将提供有关长期饮食的数据 练习。健康习惯和历史调查问卷将提供 有关饮食行为的其他信息。血液中的色氨酸水平将 用高效液相色谱法进行分析，以评估 与国家标准相比，血液中的色氨酸水平较低。审计将 提供有关饮酒行为的信息。DRINC，特别关注 与大脑5-羟色胺水平低相关的情况将提供 关于负面后果严重程度的信息。 分析将通过构建以下可信区间来进行 样本中的营养数据，并将其与国家标准进行比较。 此外，病例对照比较将检查 营养变量和饮酒问题。我们预测低色氨酸 至少一种微量营养素的摄取或缺乏将在 美洲原住民人口。我们进一步预测饮酒的严重程度 而负面后果将在那些价值较低的人中更大 色氨酸或产生5-羟色胺所必需的微量营养素。

APPLICANT'S ABSTRACT: Alcoholism is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among rural Native Americans. Research suggests there is a link between susceptibility for problems associated with alcohol abuse and low brain serotonin levels. A potential contributor to low brain serotonin levels is low dietary intake of the essential amino acid tryptophan, serotonin's natural precursor. Dietary studies report Native American diets are high in carbohydrates and fats and low in quality proteins. Low intake of the micronutrients that convert tryptophan to serotonin are also reported. We hypothesize that Native American populations may be at risk for alcohol-related problems due to inadequate intake of tryptophan or the micronutrients that convert it to serotonin. This pilot study will involve a random sample of 30 adult Native American males and 30 adult Native American females living in Caddo County, Oklahoma. 24-hour dietary recalls will be analyzed to quantitate total protein and micronutrient levels and give qualitative data on tryptophan consumption. The Food Frequency Questionnaire will provide data on long-term dietary practices. The Health Habits and History Questionnaire will provide additional information on dietary behaviors. Blood tryptophan levels will be analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography to assess whether blood tryptophan levels are low relative to national norms. AUDIT will provide information on drinking behavior. DrInC, with special focus on conditions associated with low brain serotonin levels, will provide information on severity of negative consequences. Analysis will be conducted by constructing confidence intervals for nutritional data in the sample and comparing this to national norms. Additionally, case-control comparisons will examine the association between nutritional variables and problem drinking. We predict that low tryptophan intake or deficiency in at least one micronutrient will be found in this Native American population. We further predict that severity of drinking and negative consequences will be greater among those with lower values of tryptophan or the micronutrients necessary for the production of serotonin.