Objective: To study the distribution of aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) polymorphisms between healthy Zhuang and Han ethnic individuals in Guangxi Autonomous Region and its influence to the behaviors of alcohol consumption.
Methods: Polymerase chain reaction with confronting two-pair primers (PCR-CTPP) and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) techniques were used to genotype ALDH2, respectively, and alcohol consumption was recorded in a constructed questionnaire.
Results: The frequencies of ALDH2 alleles (ALDH2(1)/ALDH2(2)) among Zhuang and Han ethnics were 0.511, 0.489 and 0.508, 0.492 respectively (chi2 = 0.001, P > 0.05). The ALDH2 genotypes were verified with PCR-RFLP method. The frequencies of ALDH2(1) genotype in alcoholics (> or = 3 times drinking per week) were 35.59% and 15.67% in Zhuang and Han groups respectively (chi2 = 5.800, P = 0.016).
Conclusion: There was no significant different distribution of ALDH2 genotype among healthy Zhuang and Han ethnic people. The genotype of ALDH2 in different ethnicity might influence individual behavior of alcohol consumption.