Genetic or cultural determinants of drinking: a study of embarrassment at facial flushing among Japanese and Japanese-Americans

Abstract

Facial flushing after the ingestion of alcohol is common among Asians. Flushers are genetically less able to tolerate alcohol than nonflushers and are less likely to become alcoholics. This study examined whether lower consumption of alcohol among flushers was correlated with cultural factors such as embarrassment over flushing as well as with biological factors among Japanese in Japan and Japanese-Americans using data from a joint Japan-U.S. collaborative survey. Eight hundred forty-six Japanese and 737 Japanese-American current drinkers with known flushing status were studied. The mean alcohol intake differed significantly between groups: (1) habitat--Japanese versus Japanese-Americans, (2) flushing status--flushers versus nonflushers, and (3) embarrassment about flushing. Among men, ethnicity was the major determinant of alcohol consumption, followed by flushing status and embarrassment about flushing. Among women, differences were not significant. Lower alcohol consumption by flushers than by nonflushers has been attributed to differences in physiological reactions to alcohol. However, this study demonstrated that cultural factors such as embarrassment also contribute to lower alcohol consumption by flushers. The lack of interaction between habitat and flushing status and between habitat and embarrassment status suggests that flushing status and embarrassment status associated with drinking levels are independent of habitat.