Psychiatry Investig.  2017 Nov;14(6):825-829. 10.4306/pi.2017.14.6.825.

Spicy Food Preference and Risk for Alcohol Dependence in Korean

• Park JH
• Kim SG
• Kim JH
• Lee JS
• Jung WY
• Kim HK

• KMID: 2402410
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4306/pi.2017.14.6.825

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Previous studies have reported that both preference for spicy food and drinking behavior are associated with the activity of the opioid system in the central nervous system. The relationship between the preference for spicy food and the risk of alcohol dependence by comparing spicy food preference in alcohol-dependent patients vs. healthy controls was investigated. Also the association between the preference for spicy food and OPRM1 A118G was studied.
METHODS
A total of 150 Korean male patients with alcohol dependence and 100 normal male control subjects were included in this study. Preference for spicy food was measured using the Food Preference Scale (FPS). DNA analysis was conducted to detect the A118G polymorphism.
RESULTS
The mean FPS score was significantly higher in the alcohol-dependent patients (61.2±24.2) than in the normal control subjects (53.0±22.0). FPS scores differed significantly between alcohol-dependent patients and normal control subjects who had the G allele in OPRM1 A118G, but not between the two groups with the AA genotype.
CONCLUSION
A strong preference for spicy food can be assumed to be a risk factor for alcohol dependence, particularly in those carrying the G allele in OPRM1 A118G.

Keyword

Spicy food preference; Alcohol dependence; µ-opioid receptor; A118G polymorphism

MeSH Terms

Alcoholism*
Alleles
Central Nervous System
DNA
Drinking Behavior
Food Preferences*
Genotype
Humans
Male
Risk Factors
DNA