Alcohol consumption plays an important role in the health transition
associated with urbanization in developing countries. Thus, reliable
tools for assessing alcohol intake levels are necessary. We compared
two biological markers of alcohol consumption and self-reported alcohol
intakes in participants from urban and rural South African communities.
This cross-sectional epidemiological survey was part of the North West
Province, South African leg of the 12-year International Prospective
Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study which investigates the health
transition in urban and rural subjects. A total of 2,010 apparently
healthy African volunteers (35 years and older) were recruited from a
sample of 6,000 randomly-selected households. Alcohol consumption was
assessed through self-reports (24-hour recalls and quantitative food
frequency questionnaire) and by two biological markers: percentage
carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (%CDT) and gamma-glutamyl
transferase (GGT). Of the 716 men and 1,192 women volunteers, 64% and
33% respectively reported regular alcohol consumption. Reported mean
habitual intakes of drinker men and women were 29.9 (\ub130.0) and
23.3 (\ub129.1) g of pure alcohol per day. Reported habitual intake
of the whole group correlated positively and significantly with both
%CDT (R=0.32; p 640.01) and GGT (R=0.43; p\u22640.01). The
correlation between the two biomarkers was low (0.211; p 640.01).
GGT and %CDT values should be interpreted with care in Africans as
self-reported non-drinker men and women had elevated levels of GGT (19%
and 26%) and %CDT (48% and 38%). A need exists for a more specific
biological marker for alcohol consumption in black Africans