required to produce a positive EtG in hair. Can social drinking generate enough EtG in the hair to produce a positive result? Morini et al (2006) reported between 2 pg/mg and 35.4 pg/mg in the hair of social drinkers and that study was instrumental in the develop- ment of the European cutoff of 30 pg/mg. Te Society of Hair Testing (SOHT) declared that a concentration of EtG in hair greater than 30 pg/mg indicates chronic excessive ethanol con- sumption (SOHT, 2011). Politi et al (2006) tested 14 social drinkers (self-reported ethanol intake of 2 or fewer drinks per day on average) and all of their subjects tested less than the detection limit of 4 pg/mg. A recently published study that looked
Figure 1. The concentration of EtG in hair of 21 volunteers compared to the self-reported average daily number of drinks.
specifically at the association between social drinking and hair EtG, was con- ducted by the National Board of Forensic Medicine at Linkoping University in Swe- den (Kronstrand et al, 2012). Te study enrolled 44 subjects and randomly selected the subjects into two groups, drinking and abstinence. Te females in the drinking group were provided 16 g of ethanol (1 standard drink) for 90 days and the males
were given 32 g of ethanol (2 standard drinks) for 90 days. Te abstinence group did not receive any alcohol. All subjects were asked to refrain from alcohol outside of the study for the duration of the 90 days. Aſter the 90-day period, hair was collected
from all of the subjects and the hair was tested for EtG. None of the subjects in the absti- nence group were above the detection limit. Only 1 of the women was detectable at 3 pg/ mg. Of the men, 4 were detected between 5 and 11 pg/mg. No subject in this study was positive using the 20 pg/mg (US standard cutoff) or 30 pg/mg (European standard cutoff). Tis data put into perspective that significant consumption of ethanol is required to produce a positive EtG in hair. Te concentration of EtG found in hair
can vary widely from individual to individual, even if they drink similar quantities of etha- nol. At least two studies have determined an association between the amount of drinking and the concentration of hair EtG (Politi et al, 2006; Jones et al, 2011). Politi et al (2006) obtained a self-report from 21 volunteers and measured the concentration of EtG in their hair. When charted (Figure 1), a moder- ate positive association is observed and the subjects that reported an average of less than three drinks per day were below the 20 pg/ mg cutoff. Tis chart demonstrates an average of 3-4 drinks per day is required to approach the cutoff. In a much larger study, 606 college stu-
dents were enrolled into a study where self- report and a hair sample for EtG analysis were provided (Jones et al, 2011). Figure 2 shows a positive association between the average number of self-reported drinks per day and the concentration of EtG in hair. Tis chart suggests an average of two drinks per day were required to produce a positive EtG in hair. Although not identical, these two charts provide a broad idea of the amounts of drinking required to generate positive EtG in hair results. In summary, EtG is a trace metabolite of ethanol that has been reported in a number
52 datia focus spring 2013
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