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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Food Components and Health Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #129652
Title: THE EFFECT OF DAILY ALCOHOL INTAKE ON BREATH ALCOHOL CONCENTRATIONS OF POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN AFTER A BOLUS DOSE.

Author
item Novotny, Janet
item Rumpler, William
item Baer, David
item Judd, Joseph

Submitted to: Alcohol and Alcoholism
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/16/2003
Publication Date: 7/1/2003
Citation: Novotny Dura, J., Rumpler, W.V., Baer, D.J., Judd, J.T. 2003. The effect of daily alcohol intake on breath alcohol concentrations of post-menopausal women after a bolus dose. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 64:380-383.

Interpretive Summary: Many studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of external factors on blood alcohol clearance rate, including the influence of chronic alcohol intake. Clarification of this relationship will allow us to fully understand how chronic alcohol intake influences diseases, such as breast cancer, which occur more frequently in drinkers. Record/recall studies have suggested that habitual alcohol intake increases rate of alcohol elimination from blood. We have expanded on previous studies by adapting non-alcoholic post-menopausal women to 0, 1, or 2 drinks per day for 8 weeks. At the end of the adaptation period, alcohol clearance rates were measured using a test dose. Analysis showed that adaptation to alcohol intake of 2 drinks per day resulted in more rapid clearance of alcohol from blood than adaptation to 0 or 1 drink per day. These results will be useful to scientists studying the mechanisms behind the association of alcohol and disease risk.

Technical Abstract: This study was designed to test the effect of chronic alcohol intake on blood alcohol levels and alcohol clearance rate in post-menopausal women. Fourteen women completed a study in which they consumed an alcohol treatment daily for 8 weeks. Following the 8-week adaptation period, subjects consumed a single dose of 15 g ethanol, and breath samples were collected every 5 minutes until blood alcohol concentration (BAC) decreased to zero. Analysis of BAC at the different adaptation levels showed that alcohol clearance rate was influenced by chronic intake of alcohol. Adaptation to daily alcohol intake of 30 g/d resulted in more rapid clearance of alcohol from blood than adaptation to 15 g/d or 0 g/d. Further, there appeared to be a minimum threshold level for chronic alcohol intake above 15 g/d which results in the accelerated clearance of blood alcohol.