The mental health nurse recognizes that genetic intolerance of alcohol has been documented in patient history of ethnic groups belonging to Asians.
Genetic Intolerance of Alcohol
Alcohol sensitivity is another term for alcohol intolerance.
A person with alcohol intolerance may believe that they become inebriated too rapidly, but their body is unable to break down alcohol in the same manner that a person without the illness would.
Alcohol intolerance is sometimes mistaken for alcohol allergy.
While alcohol intolerance is a metabolic issue that is handed down via your genes, alcohol allergy is more about how your immune system reacts to certain chemicals in alcohol.
Alcohol intolerance is a metabolic disease with no known treatment.
While its symptoms might be annoying and unpleasant, they are seldom deadly.
Because the illness is also genetically inherited, there is little you can do to avoid it.
People of Asian ancestry are more likely to carry the inherited genetic mutation that causes alcohol intolerance.
So, the correct answer is Asians.
One of the two enzymes principally involved in the metabolism of alcohol, Aldehyde Dehydrogenase (ALDH), is only found in Asians and does not exist in Caucasians or African-Americans. When drinking alcohol, those who have two copies of the faulty gene experience extreme flushing and other unpleasant side effects, such as nausea. Additionally, these individuals react to alcohol more strongly but not always in a negative way as shown by physiological and psychological tests. Alcohol use causes typical abnormalities in brain activity in those with faulty gene variation causing intolerances in Asians more than any other ethnic group.
