Genetic factors may contribute to racial/ethnic differences in alcohol-related health consequences. For example, in Asian populations, including Asian Americans (Cook et al. 2005; Duranceaux et al. 2008), the prevalence of certain genetic variants encoding the alcohol-metabolizing enzymes alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) is higher than in other U.S. racial/ethnic groups. One genetic variant encoding an inactive ALDH2 enzyme that is found primarily in Asian populations is associated with an elevated risk of cancer and digestive disease from alcohol consumption (Oze et al. 2011). This association may apply to Asian Americans as well, a topic warranting further research.
