treatment for AD increased from 2.5% in 1979 to 8% in 1986 then to 13% in 1992 in Japan while the rates of alcohol consumption also increased. Thus, the secular trend of increased cultural acceptance of alcohol consumption might have reduced the protective effect of the 504lys allele. Third, a previous longitudinal cohort study confirmed the significant roles of anxiety disorders and of the ADH1B Arg allele as antecedents of alcoholism among aboriginal Taiwanese (Cheng et al. 2004). Such studies will allow for determination of how the effects change over the course of lifetime alcohol use. Fourth, future studies should also try to use control samples that include older subjects which are more conservative regarding statistical analysis (as they will have passed through more of the age of risk for AD). Fifth, it is necessary to investigate the potential treatments for alcoholism based on the findings, for example, the alcohol aversion caused by this polymorphism compared to the effects of disulfiram.
