Science Daily reports that the researchers argue that some subgroups of South Asians in the UK have a major problem with alcohol and seem to be more susceptible to its effects. Yet the government’s health strategy for alcohol continues to perpetuate the myth that alcohol-related harm is low in all UK South Asians.

The evidence base is limited, wrote Dr. Rashid Zaman and colleagues, but if place of birth is used as a proxy for ethnicity, alcohol-related mortality in England and Wales is about the national average for Eastern European men and women, Sri Lankan men, and East African men, whereas men and women born in the Middle East, North Africa, West Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, and the West Indies and women born in India, Sri Lanka, and East Africa have lower mortality.

Surprisingly, men born in India reportedly drink less than the general population, yet Indian men have higher rates of alcohol related admission to hospital in England than do British white men.

Dr. Rashid Zaman and colleagues explained that the degree and pattern of alcohol use among UK South Asians varies greatly. Differences in religion, culture, history, and socioeconomic position all play a part, while differences between generations and increased alcohol consumption from acculturation further complicate the picture.

Understanding how these differences interact with biology is the key to making sense of the evidence and developing equitable services to tackle the problem, they say.

Strategies should include outreach workers developing trusted links with the relevant South Asian communities and actively promoting community services, specialist inpatient services, and residential rehabilitation services.

Delivering tailored health messages that are consistent with differing health beliefs and world views would also improve awareness.

The researchers believe the UK’s current health strategy for alcohol is failing a substantial proportion of citizens, and they call for more research to improve our understanding of alcohol-related harm among different ethnic groups.

Researchers from the University of Kansas Medical Center suggest Hispanics with alcohol-induced problems – especially male Mexican Americans – endure significantly worse health and welfare than those from other ethnic groups. This study was featured in Science Daily.

"Problem drinking is particularly bad among male Mexican Americans, which is reflected by a three times higher prevalence rate of past heavy drinking in this population than that reported for non-Hispanic male populations," explained Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan, professor at The University of Kansas Medical Center and corresponding author for the study.

The study evaluated the influence that genes and environment have on alcoholism among Mexican Americans. Findings suggest the interaction between education and a polymorphism of the reward gene contribute to severe alcoholism among this population.

"Hispanics with alcohol-induced problems, such as alcoholic liver disease (ALD), appear to fare significantly less well than those with other ethnic backgrounds,” said Wan. “For example, the survival rate of Hispanic ALD patients after 4.5 years of follow-up is only 28 percent, in contrast to 66 percent for African Americans and 40 percent for Caucasians."

To conduct the study, researchers genotyped two groups of Mexican Americans living in Los Angeles County. One group consisted of 365 alcoholics, while the other group was made up of 338 non-alcoholics or controls.

Overall findings suggest that when an individual received less than or up to 12 years of education, greater drinking levels were observed. This finding implies that when the educational levels of Mexican Americans are improved, there is a potential counteract to the genetic risk factors to help prevent alcoholism.