The frequency of ADH1B*2 is very low in most European populations and near zero in African populations (Table 2), making studies of ADH1B*2 outside Asia difficult. An exception is among individuals of Middle Eastern descent (Li et al., 2007), and small studies have shown that the presence of ADH1B*2 in individuals of Jewish descent (MAF ~ 0.2) was associated with reduced consumption, binge drinking, risk, and severity of alcoholism (Hasin et al., 2002, Meyers et al., 2015, Carr et al., 2002, Neumark et al., 1998). Early meta-analysis of small European studies showed that ADH1B*2 was protective, with an OR of 0.28 in men and 0.41 in women (p = 0.0016) (Borras et al., 2000) or 0.47 (Whitfield, 2002). It was also protective in Mexican Americans (OR = 0.28) (Ehlers et al., 2012).
