Alcohol state markers- facility and utility for clinical management of alcohol use disorders: study from a tertiary care centre in South India

Authors

  • Liji M. J. Project Assistant, ICMR Project, Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute, Thrissur, Kerala, India
  • P. R. Varghese Research Coordinator, Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute, Thrissur, Kerala, India
  • Susheela Jacob Innah Department of Immunohematology, Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute, Thrissur, Kerala, India
  • Praveenlal Kuttichira Department of Psychiatry and Principal Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute, Thrissur, Kerala, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20213941

Keywords:

Alcohol biomarkers, Alcohol use disorders, Aspartate aminotransferase, Alanine aminotransferase, Mean corpuscular volume, Gamma glutamyltransferase

Abstract

Background: Alcoholism is broadly any drinking of alcohol resulting in significant psychological and physiological health problems. As alcoholism is not a recognized diagnostic entity the detection and monitoring of the clinical manifestations of alcoholism is of great importance in the alcohol use disorders (AUD) treatment. Hence, the use of alcohol biomarkers plays a vital role in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of AUDs.

Methods: This study aimed to understand the utility of state markers in alcohol related distress, both for diagnosis and prognosis in a tertiary care centre. The relative number and the frequency of the alcohol biomarker tests such as AST (aspartate aminotransferase), ALT (alanine aminotransferase), MCV (mean corpuscular volume) and GGT (gamma-glutamyl transferase) investigated in the hospital departments (32 departments) were collected. Test requests and results in January to March on five consecutive years from 2016 to 2020 were analyzed, by comparing psychiatry department with all other departments and AUD with non-AUD cases.

Results: The study findings revealed that, the tests AST, ALT and MCV were well utilized for the AUD treatment procedure in the tertiary care centre, irrespective of the department the patient got admitted. Since GGT was the least preferred test, the figures of GGT could not be analysed because of the exceptionally low number.

Conclusions: The utility of the commonly available alcohol biomarker tests is especially useful for the clinical management of AUD patients and these are well utilized in an appreciable manner in the study centre. Development of more accurate, specific, and sensitive panel of biomarker tests may further motivate clinicians to better monitor individuals who suffer from alcoholism.

References

Helander A. Biological markers in alcoholism. J Neural Transm Supplement. 2003;66(66):15-32.

Cabezas J, Michael RL, Ramon B. Biomarkers for monitoring alcohol use. Clin Liver Dis. 2016;8(13):59-63.

Andresen-Streichert H, Müller A, Glahn A, Skopp G, Sterneck M. Alcohol biomarkers in clinical and forensic contexts. Deutsches Ärzteblatt Int. 2018;115(18):309.

Karen P. Biomarkers for alcohol use and abuse: a summary. Alcohol Res Health. 2004;28(1):30-7.

Torruellas C, French SW, Medici V. Diagnosis of alcoholic liver diseases. World J Gastroenterol. 2014;20(33):11684-99.

John PA, Pekka S, Nuria S. Biomarkers of heavy drinking. Assessing alcohol problems: a guide for clinicians and researchers: National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 2003;37-53.

Chan AW, Welte JW, Whitney RB. Identification of alcoholism in young adults by blood chemistries. Alcohol. 1987;4:175-9.

Conigrave KM, Davies P, Haber P, Whitfield JB. Traditional markers of excessive alcohol use. Addiction. 2003;98:31-43.

Cohen JA, Kaplan MM. The SPOT/SGOT ratio: an indicator of alcoholic liver disease. Digest Dis Sci. 1979;24:835-8.

Musshoffa F, Daldrup TB. Determination of biological markers for alcohol abuse. J Chromat B: Biomed Sci Appl. 1998;713(1):245-64.

Mikko S. Biological state markers of alcohol abuse. Alcohol Health Res World. 1994;18(2):131-5.

Harasymiw JW, Vinson DC, Bean P. The early detection of alcohol consumption (EDAC) score in the identification of heavy and at-risk drinkers from routine blood tests. J Addict Dis. 2000;19:43-59.

Sillanaukee P, Olsson U. Improved diagnostic classification of alcohol abusers by combining carbohydrate deficient transferrin and gamma-glutamyl transferase. Clin Chem. 2001;47:681-5.

Hannuksela ML, Liisanantti MK, Nissinen AE, Savolainen MJ. Biochemical markers of alcoholism. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2007;45(8):953-61.

Sharpe PC. Biochemical detection and monitoring of alcohol abuse and abstinence. Ann Clin Biochem. 2001;38(6):652-64.

Das SK, Dhanya L, Vasudevan DM. Biomarkers of alcoholism: an updated review. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 2008;68(2):81-9

Liji JM, Varghese PR, JacobInna HS, Kuttichira P. Biomarker signatures to monitor alcohol consumption and induced organ damage. J Clin Diagn Res. 2021;15(2):LE01-5.

Ghosh S, Jain R, Jhanjee S, Rao R, Mishra A. Alcohol biomarkers and their relevance in detection of alcohol consumption in clinical settings. Int Arch Subst Abuse Rehabil. 2019;1(002).

Vaswani M, Rao RV. The biochemical measures in the development of alcohol dependence using discriminant analysis. Indian J Med Sci. 2005;59(10):423-30.

Raj KK, Chambers R. Novel objective biomarkers of alcohol use: potential diagnostic and treatment management tools in dual diagnosis care. J Dual Diagn. 2009;5(1):57-82.

Jastrzębska I, Zwolak A, Szczyrek M, Wawryniuk A, Skrzydło-Radomańska B, Daniluk J. Biomarkers of alcohol misuse: recent advances and future prospects. Przeglad Gastroenterol. 2016;11(2):78-89.

Downloads

Published

2021-09-28

How to Cite

J., L. M., Varghese, P. R., Innah, S. J., & Kuttichira, P. (2021). Alcohol state markers- facility and utility for clinical management of alcohol use disorders: study from a tertiary care centre in South India. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 9(10), 3105–3109. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20213941

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles