The low LR to alcohol indicates that higher doses of alcohol are needed to produce effects; i.e., that drinkers have lower sensitivities to alcohol per drink. One of several measures of a person’s reaction to alcohol (e.g., King et al., 2016; Newlin and Renton, 2010), LR has been extensively evaluated as a predictor of future heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems (e.g., Quinn and Fromme, 2011; Ray et al., 2010; Wardell et al., 2015). While women have higher LRs (i.e., are more sensitive per drink) (Eng et al., 2005), within groups of women a lower LR relates to a higher risk for alcohol problems (Eng et al., 2005). A person’s LR tends to increase with age, but within older individuals lower LRs still relate to higher AUD risks (Schuckit and Smith, 2004). Also, despite LR differences across some ethnic groups, within ethnicities a lower LR relates to higher alcohol problem risks (Ehlers et al., 1999; Wall et al., 1999).
