Review on Alcohol Abuse in India and Detection of Alcohol Biomarkers PEth, EtG

The estimated 160 million people who drink alcohol in India may be found in all 29 states and 7 union territories. With India’s uncontrolled alcohol usage, biomarkers to determine consumption of alcohol or problematic alcohol intake provide a way to reliably check a patient’s or subject’s alcohol consumption information. Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) hair testing is the most accurate method for determining how much alcohol was consumed. EtG testing may be used to see whether one’s drinking habits have altered. After someone has stopped drinking, the amount of EtG in their hair gradually decreases over the course of three to six months. However, some studies have shown that chemical treatments, such as bleaching, diminish the amounts of EtG from the hair, therefore the findings should be interpreted with caution. Blood testing for Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a very accurate and consistent method for detecting alcohol intake. A sensitivity of over 99% is achieved by the fact that PEth is only formed after alcohol use. The results of a test for PEth in the blood are unaffected by the subject’s age, health, history of alcohol usage, or the presence or absence of certain drugs. Over 20ng/ml for a PEth test is considered high-level alcohol misuse, and 100ng/ml or more is indicative of severe binge drinking.