Phospholipids as Biomarkers for Excessive Alcohol Use
Abstract
Our proposal is to determine the diagnostic utility of sphingomyelin (SM) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) as the potential biomarkers to screen for excessive alcohol use (EAU); a rising epidemic reported to be as high as 40% among returning veterans. Drinking becomes excessive when it causes or elevates the risk for alcohol-related problems or complicates the management of other health problems. According to the NIH/NIAAA, excessive drinking is defined as men who drink more than 4 standard drinks in a day (or more than 14 per week) and women who drink more than 3 drinks in a day (or more than 7 per week). Non-civilian military personnel have been deployed in support of the war efforts in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom, OEF) and Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom, OIF) since September 11, 2001. These sustained combat operations have resulted in military personnel experiencing physical threat or actual injury during the deployment and difficult adjustments during post-deployment period. Negative life stress is a major contributor to the onset and exacerbation of EAU. Theprevalence of EAU is alarming, and the vigilance and action to identify veterans with EAU is of importance. The consequences of under detection of EAU, thus delayed intervention are serious because relative risk of alcohol-related health conditions such as cirrhosis, pancreatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, is increased with the amounts and duration of alcohol consumed per day. We hypothesize that alcohol consumption elevates a panel of serum phospholipids (sphingomyelin, and lysophosphatidylcholines) in proportion to the level of consumption in the past month.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1000377
Entities
People
- Suthat Liangpunsakul
Organizations
- Indiana University