ABSTRACT
The Collaborative study on the Genetics of Alcoholism, Trinidad and Tobago (COGA-TT), studied the frequencies of the genes of alcohol metabolizing enzyme in a population comprising Indo-Trinbagonians (Indo-TTs) and Afro-Trinbagonians (Afro-TTs).
COGA-TT found that possession of an ADH1C*2 allele conferred greater risk of alcohol dependence and higher GGT levels than those where the allele was absent and also discovered that the ADH1B*3 allele had a protective effect against development of alcoholism. Indo-TTs with at least one ALDH1A1*2 allele had statistically significant probability of lifetime diagnosis for alcohol dependence. The results suggested a probable but not absolute predisposition to alcohol dependence in Indo-TTs and some protection in Afro-TTs.
The policy implications include those: 1. affecting the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcohol; 2. Acceptable use of alcohol by the consumer and controlling the use of on special occasions, like Carnival; 3. controlling the promotion of the sale of alcohol to adolescents and 4. Define procedures for managing individuals who become dependent on alcohol.
Manuscripts that are Published Ahead of Print have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by the Editorial Board of the West Indian Medical Journal. They may appear in their original format and may not be copy edited or formatted in the style guide of this Journal. While accepted manuscripts are not yet assigned a volume, issue or page numbers, they can be cited using the DOI and date of e-publication. See our Instructions for Authors on how to properly cite manuscripts at this stage. The contents of the manuscript may change before it is published in its final form. Manuscripts in this section will be removed once they have been issued to a volume and issue, but will still retain the DOI and date of e-publication.
Our 7 faculties and 12 professional schools offer more than 200 programmes to some 18,000 graduate, undergraduate and continuing studies students.
The UWI, Mona ranks first in Jamaica among accredited tertiary-level programmes. In 2012, the University was again one of Jamaica’s Top 100 Employers.
