shown that genetic polymorphisms in ADH1B and ALDH2 that have functional impacts on enzyme function alter the risk of alcohol dependence (reviewed in (10), Supplementary Table 1, 3). Acetaldehyde is also a mutagen that can react with a variety of biomolecules and individuals with the Glu487Lys loss-of-function variant in ALDH2 should refrain from drinking large quantities of alcohol as they have a substantially elevated risk of upper GI cancer compared to individuals with the fully active enzyme (42).
