Erythrocyte aldehyde dehydrogenase activity in alcoholics and non-alcoholics and its value as a Biochemical marker in alcoholism

Erythrocyte aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity in a normal reference population from North India was determined from results of 22 healthy subjects (12 male and 10 female). We compared these data with results of 19 alcoholic patients (13 male and 6 female). The mean erythrocyte ALDH activity of male and female alcohol abusers was 16.2% and 20.9% lower than the mean values for healthy subjects, respectively (P<0.001 and <0.01). It is proposed that erythrocyte ALDH activity may be a useful clinical chemical marker of alcohol abuse and alcoholism.