Objective: We analyzed the relationship among prevalence of Parkinson’s disease, the variants in ADH1B and ALDH2, alcohol consumption and smoking per population among Japanese prefectures.
Background: Recent studies showed inverse associations between alcohol consumption and PD risk compared with non-drinkers, especially in combination with smoking. Variants in ADH1B (A allele of rs1229984:A > G) and in ALDH2 (A allele of rs671:G > A), which are specifically prevalent among East Asian population, cause rapid accumulation of blood acetaldehyde and affect alcohol drinking behavior.
Method: The estimated number of PD patients who received medical treatment in each prefecture was obtained from the Patient Survey in 2023 held by the Japan Health Statistics Office, under the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the ratio to the number of individuals in the same year in each prefecture was used as a surrogate for the local PD prevalence. Data on prevalence of ADH1B rs1229984 and ALDH2 rs671 in each prefecture were purchased from A.D.A.M. Innovations Co. Data on alcohol consumption in each prefecture were obtained from the official notifications database of the National Tax Agency of Japan. Data on smoking were obtained from the database of the Cancer Registry and Statistics. Cancer Information Service, National Cancer Center, Japan. The association among these factors were analyzed using correlation coefficient.
Results: PD prevalence showed a significant positive correlation with heterozygous ADH1B rs1229984 and a significant negative correlation with its homozygous A allele (Spearman’s rank correlation, p<0.05, ρ=0.339 and 0.373), however, no significant correlation was found with ALDH2 rs671 allele, alcohol consumption, or smoking. Homozygous ADH1B rs1229984 G allele positively correlated with alcohol consumption (p<0.05, ρ=0.294). Alcohol consumption and smoking showed a significant positive correlation (p<0.001, ρ=0.522).
Conclusion: The current study suggests that the PD risk reduction by alcohol can be attributed to the variants in ADH1B rs1229984 and ALDH2 rs671 in East Asian population.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
M. Kinoshita, H. Ohara, R. Sasaki, K. Tamura, M. Iyer, B. Vellingiri. Impact of Variants in ADH1B and ALDH2 on Parkinson’s Disease in Japan [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2026; 41 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/impact-of-variants-in-adh1b-and-aldh2-on-parkinsons-disease-in-japan/. Accessed October 1, 2026.« Back to 2026 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/impact-of-variants-in-adh1b-and-aldh2-on-parkinsons-disease-in-japan/