BACKGROUND: Most recent studies have suggested that beer is associated with high risk of mortality and morbidity. The purpose of this study was to investigate how beverage types affected high risk drinking for chronic harm. METHODS: We analyzed data from 1997 Korea's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey collected through telephone interview based on the multi-stage stratified random sampling (N=1,045). According to the WHOs guidelines, we categorized alcohol consumption per day into three risk levels for chronic harm and employed logistic regression analyses by adjusting for confounding factors including the number of beverages consumed, smoking, BMI, stress, and subjective health. RESULTS: Those who preferred soju were almost three to four times as likely to involve medium or high risk as those who preferred beer. In addition, compared to the beer-preferring drinkers, those who preferred spirits had more than five times of possibility in high risk drinking. However, both of those who preferred makkolli or wine and of those who preferred beer were exposed to high risk drinking to a similar degree. CONCLUSION: In Korea, preferred types of alcoholic beverage turned out to be very important factor of high risk drinking behavior. Therefore, we need to encourage drinkers to switch high alcohol to low alcohol content beverages.
Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholic Beverages* ; Alcoholics* ; Alcoholism ; Alcohols ; Beer ; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System ; Beverages ; Drinking Behavior ; Drinking* ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mortality ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Wine

OBJECTIVE: Studies have suggested that beer is associated with a high risk of mortality and morbidity. The purpose of this study was to investigate how types of alcoholic beverage are related to high risk acute harm. METHODS: Data from the 1997 Korea's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey, collected through telephone questionings, were analyzed based on multi-stage stratified random sampling (N=1, 045). Among those who had drunk at least one type of alcoholic beverage in the last month, one episode where the drinker had consumed the highest level of ethanol was selected, and the alcohol consumption per drinking day categorized into four risk levels of short-term, 'acute' harm, according to the WHO guidelines. Employing ordered logistic regression analyses, as the explanatory variables, types of alcoholic beverage, with and without socioeconomic characteristics, were considered. RESULTS: Spirits and soju were more than ten and three times, respectively, more likely than beer, while makkolli and wine were almost as likely as beer, to involve high risk drinking, irrespective of controlling for the socioeconomic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike most Western countries, in Korea, beer, rather than spirits or soju, is generally less likely to be associated with high risk drinking for acute harm. The influence of beverage types on high risk drinking for acute harm appears to vary between countries.
Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholic Beverages* ; Alcoholics* ; Alcoholism ; Alcohols ; Beer ; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System ; Beverages ; Drinking* ; Ethanol ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mortality ; Telephone ; Wine

OBJECTIVE: Gout is one of the most common forms of inflammatory arthritides among men, which is caused primarily by chronic hyperuricemia. Although pharmacological therapy is the mainstay treatment to manage gout, limiting the consumption of dietary purine is also important. Several epidemiological studies have reported that alcohol consumption is closely related to hyperuricemia and gout. The objective of this study was to determine the purine content in common Korean alcoholic beverages using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to provide a dietary guideline for those with hyperuricemia or gout. METHODS: Thirty-five alcoholic beverages were analyzed. Blindly labeled samples of each alcoholic beverage were degassed and frozen. The sample preparation prior to HPLC followed the methods of Japanese researchers. HPLC was performed to analyze adenine, guanine, hypoxanthine, and xanthine content in the alcoholic beverages. RESULTS: The standard curves were linear for all purines. Purine contents were as follows: beer (42.26~146.39 micromol/L, n=12), medicinal wine (8.2 and 40.41 micromol/L, n=2), rice wine (13.19 micromol/L), Makgeolri (11.71 and 24.72 micromol/L, n=2), red wine (0, 6.03, and 17.9 micromol/L, n=3). No purines were found in fruit wine (n=2), Kaoliang (n=1), white wine (n=1), or distilled alcoholic beverages, such as soju (n=10) or whiskey (n=1). CONCLUSION: Among popular Korean alcoholic beverages, beer contained a considerable amount of purines, whereas distilled alcoholic beverages did not. Patients with either gout or hyperuricemia should avoid alcoholic beverages, especially those containing large amounts of purines.
Adenine ; Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholic Beverages ; Alcoholics ; Arthritis ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Beer ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Fruit ; Gout ; Guanine ; Humans ; Hyperuricemia ; Hypoxanthine ; Male ; Purines ; Wine ; Xanthine

OBJECTIVETo observe the ethyl carbamate concentrations in different commercial fermented foods in Hangzhou in 2010.

METHODSIn 2010, 237 commercial fermented food samples of eight categories, including yellow wine, white spirit, wine, beer, cooking wine, sauce, vinegar and fermented bean curd, were purchased from 3 different size markets respectively in Hangzhou. The ethyl carbamate was measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in selection ion mode, after the samples were coupled with D5-ethyl carbamate, and purified by diatomite solid phase extraction column.

RESULTSThe results showed that ethyl carbamate was detected in all samples analyzed (100%) with the range from 2.0 µg/kg to 515.0 µg/kg. The ethyl carbamate average (median) levels in 8 food categories were descending with fermented red bean curd (182.2 µg/kg (161.2 µg/kg)), yellow wine (159.6 µg/kg (121.0 µg/kg)), cooking wine (86.8 µg/kg (95.6 µg/kg)), white spirit (72.0 µg/kg (60.5 µg/kg)), soy sauce (47.2 µg/kg (40.7µg/kg)), vinegar (26.7 µg/kg (31.8 µg/kg)), wine (15.7 µg/kg (16.8 µg/kg)) and beer (2.2 µg/kg (2.3 µg/kg)).

CONCLUSIONThe ethyl carbamate was detected in all fermented foods in Hangzhou in 2010, and the levels of ethyl carbamate in red bean curd and yellow wine were higher than others.

Acetic Acid ; analysis ; Alcoholic Beverages ; analysis ; Beer ; analysis ; China ; Fermentation ; Food Analysis ; Food Contamination ; analysis ; Food Inspection ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; methods ; Urethane ; analysis ; Wine ; analysis

This study investigated the intake of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in college students. Five hundred and eighty seven students age 19-30 (432 male and 155 female) responded to the beverage consumption survey. Of the students 19.9% were freshman, 42.2% sophomore, 23% junior, and 15% seniors. Results are summarized as follows : 1) Beer and soju were the most commonly consumed alcoholic beverages by the college students. The amount of beverage normally consumed was 3 cans of beer or 1 bottle of soju. 2) There was no age related change in amount of alcoholic beverage consumed, but preference for liquor rather than beer increased with age. 3) Foods most commonly consumed prior to drinking were cooked rice and milk. 4) Following the drinking of alcoholic beverages the most commonly consumed food or beverage was cold water for both males and females. The next most commonly foods were cooked rice, instant noodles, and cola for males ; and cooked rice, milk, and fruit for females. 5) Cola and pear juice were the preferred non-alcoholic beverages for college students. Also popular among students were date juice for males and orange juice for females. Milk and non-cola carbonated beverages were not commonly consumed. This study provides information for the identification of possible alcoholic beverage related public health risks among college students.
Alcoholic Beverages ; Alcoholics* ; Beer ; Beverages* ; Carbonated Beverages ; Citrus sinensis ; Cola ; Drinking ; Female ; Fruit ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do* ; Male ; Milk ; Public Health ; Pyrus ; Water

Aims: The presence of lignocelluloses, especially sawdust in the Lagos lagoon and the attendant ecological problems warranted studies on their degradation. This study aimed to isolate and identify the indigenous bacterial strains capable of utilizing lignocellulosic wastes under the prevalent tropical estuarine conditions. Methodology and results: Nine bacterial species were obtained by elective culture from decomposing wood residues in the lagoon. They were identified on the basis of morphology, biochemical characteristics and analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences as Streptomyces, Bacillus and Paenibacillus species. They were cultured on various ligninrelated lignocellulosic substrates over a period of 7 to 12 days. All the isolates showed moderate to very good growth on sugarcane baggase. Streptomyces albogriseolus strain AOB and Paenibacillus sp. ROB showed good growth on grass while on sawdust, only Streptomyces AOB, and Bacillus megaterium strain NOB showed good growth. High performance liquid chromatographic analysis showed that the Streptomyces species completely utilized coniferyl alcohol, B. megaterium strain NOB utilized 90-100% of all the lignin- related aromatic compounds. All the bacterial species utilized less than 40% of sinapyl alcohol, Bacillus sp. OOB and Paenibacillus sp. strain ROB failed to utilize vanillic acid. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: The isolates degraded lignocellulosic wastes and lignin-related compounds. The role of fungi in the breakdown of lignocellulose in the Lagos lagoon had been the subject of previous research considerations whilst the role of bacteria spp was unreported. Autochthonous bacterial species may equally play a role in the bio-rehabilitation of the sawdust-polluted water of the Lagos lagoon. Keywords: Lignocellulose, Streptomyces, Bacillus, Paenibacillus, pollution
Alcoholic Beverages ; Fermentation ; Phoeniceae

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use is a major source of health problem. The social and economic costs related to alcohol use are enormous. Thus, alcohol use is a public health issue. Previous studies on alcohol use were based on hospitalized patients(especially alcoholics) or community subjects, but national survey is lacking. In this study, we describe alcohol use among the Koreans. METHODS: Household telephone survey was carried out using multistage stratified random sampling methods from April to May, 1997. fifteen to sixty-nine year old subjects were randomly selected from household and asked to report type, quantity and frequency of alcoholic beverage consumption. RESULTS: The prevalences of alcohol drinking during the last month were 64.0% for mea 37.8% for women and 64.7% for those in their and twenties, and it decreased with increasing age. In multivariate logistic regression model, men, the unmarried, those in their twenties, administrative and professional personnel were associated with higher prevalence of alcohol drinking. Proportions of Nearly daily drinker were 16.5% for men, 2.2% for women, and more than 20% for those in their forties and over and in creased with increasing age. Mean alcohol consumption was 56 grams for men, 12 grams for women Heavy drinkers, defined as average intake of 30 grams or more per day, were found in 23.4% of men and 2.4% of women.. The most widely consumed beverages were soju, beer and makuli. In multivariate logistic regression model, men, the unmarried, those in their twenties, and administrative and professional personnel were highly associated with heavy drinking. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalences of alcohol drinking during the last month was 49.0%. The proportion of heavy drinker was 11.4%. Men, the unmarried, those in their twenties, and administrative and professional personnel were highly associated with heave drinking. Therefore, efforts should be made to reduce heavy alcohol drinking among the risk groups.
Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholic Beverages ; Beer ; Beverages ; Drinking ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Humans ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Prevalence ; Public Health ; Single Person ; Telephone

No abstract available.
Alcoholic Beverages ; Alcoholics ; Humans ; Purines

OBJECTIVES: 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) regularly occurs in foods and in alcoholic beverages. However, the risk of HMF associated with alcohol consumption has not been systematically studied, so that this study will provide the first quantitative risk assessment of HMF for consumers of alcoholic beverages. METHODS: Human dietary intake of HMF via alcoholic beverages in the European Union was estimated based on WHO alcohol consumption data combined with our own survey data (n=944) and literature data (n=147) about the HMF contents of different beverage groups (beer, wine, spirits and unrecorded alcohol). The risk assessment was conducted using the margin of exposure (MOE) approach. RESULTS: For olfactory epithelium metaplasia in female mice, a benchmark dose (BMD) of 127 mg/kg bodyweight (bw)/d and a BMD lower confidence limit (BMDL) of 79 mg/kg bw/d were calculated from National Toxicology Program oral long-term animal experiments. The average human exposure to HMF from alcoholic beverages was estimated at 6.0E-3 mg/kg bw/d, which is approximately 8.5% of the total dietary exposure. In comparison of the human exposure with BMDL, the MOE was 13,167 for average alcohol consumption scenarios, which is a value that would be generally assumed as safe for threshold based compounds. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the risk from HMF to the alcohol-consuming population is rather low and the priority for risk management (e.g. to reduce the contamination) is also low. Further toxicological research about HMF is required to further elucidate its mechanism.
Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholic Beverages ; Alcoholics ; Animal Experimentation ; Animals ; Beverages ; European Union ; Female ; Furaldehyde ; Humans ; Metaplasia ; Mice ; Olfactory Mucosa ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Management ; Toxicology ; Wine

The authors reported and reviewed 7 cases of seizures among 53 chronic alcoholics who had been hospitalized in Kyung Hee University Hospital from Jan. 1, 1979 to Mar. 31, 1983. Case 1 was considered to be alcohol withdrawal seizure (so called "rum fit") in terms of it's clinical and laboratory findings. And other 6 cases, which had no past history of epilepsy and had been drinking alcoholic beverages for 9.6 years on the average before the appearances of seizures, were considered to belong to alcoholinduced seizures.
Alcohol Withdrawal Seizures ; Alcoholic Beverages ; Alcoholics* ; Drinking ; Epilepsy ; Humans ; Seizures*