Excessive consumption of alcohol in men as a biological influence factor in clinical laboratory investigations
Stamm, D.; Hansert, E.; Feuerlein, W.
Journal of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Biochemistry 22(1): 65-77
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0340-076X PMID: 6699554 Document Number: 228064
Excessive alcohol consumption leads to changes in clinical chemical and hematological parameters that are reversed after alcohol consumption ceases. Such factors that lead to changes in vivo in the parameters are termed biological influence factors. The biological influence factor excessive alcohol consumption was assessed in its most severe form, alcoholism. Clinical chemical parameters (24) and 8 hematological parameters were studied in 82 male alcoholics. The diagnoses of alcohol abuse and alcoholism were made on the basis of the Munich Alcoholism Test (MALT) and the information obtained in the following standardized interviews and examinations: past history, an alcohol questionnaire, general physical examination and neurological examination. In the comparison of the analytical results for the alcholics with reference intervals for normal ranges the following alterations were found, the percentage of the alcoholics being given in parentheses: increased .gamma.-glutamyltransferase (78%), .gamma.-globulins (10%), aspartate aminotransferase (37%), bilirubin, total (8%), alanine aminotranferase (47%), uric acid (13%), alkaline phosphatase (13%), serum Fe (14%), glutamate dehydrogenase (32%), cholesterol (22%), creatine kinase (27%), triglycerides (38%) and mean corpuscular volume (69%); and decreased cholinesterase (10%), Mg (10%), Na (8.5%), K (17%), serum Fe (28%), chloride (10%), cholesterol (22%), Pi (8%), Hb (28%) and hematocrit (11%). The result was below the location parameter of the reference sample group for urea (80%). Excessive alcohol consumption was a biological influence factor that must be taken into consideration in the medical assessment of analytical results for numerous clinical chemical and hematological parameters. In determining reference values and reference intervals for the transverse assessment of analytical results for these parameters it is essential that subjects with excessive alcohol consumption be excluded from the reference sample group. Alcoholism can not be detected or excluded by evaluating a single parameter, i.e., on the basis of 1 clinical chemical finding.