The relationship between ALDH2*2 possession and lower alcohol use may increase during late adolescence and early adulthood. Doran, et al. (2007) assessed a sample of Asian American college students during the first year of college, and again in the second year. They found that the frequency of heavy drinking episodes was not related to ALDH2 genotype during the freshman year, but was during the sophomore year. Possession of the ALDH2*2 allele, the authors concluded, protected against progression towards heavy drinking from freshman to sophomore year, and made desistance from heavy drinking during this period more likely. Similarly, the association between ALDH2 genotype and alcohol use outcomes in a sample of Korean college students in Korea increased between an initial freshman year assessment and follow-up 6 years later (Kim, et al., 2010).
