Jones A W, Löwinger H
Department of Alcohol Toxicology, University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden.
Forensic Sci Int. 1988 Jun;37(4):277-85. doi: 10.1016/0379-0738(88)90236-8.
Headspace gas chromatography was used to determine the concentration of ethanol and methanol in blood samples from 519 individuals suspected of drinking and driving in Sweden where the legal alcohol limit is 0.50 mg/g in whole blood (11 mmol/l). The concentration of ethanol in blood ranged from 0.01 to 3.52 mg/g with a mean of 1.83 +/- 0.82 mg/g (+/- S.D.). The frequency distribution was symmetrical about the mean but deviated from normality. A plot of the same data on normal probability paper indicated that it might be composed of two subpopulations (bimodal). The concentration of methanol in the same blood specimens ranged from 1 to 23 mg/l with a mean of 7.3 +/- 3.6 mg/l (+/- S.D.) and this distribution was markedly skew (+). The concentration of ethanol (x) and methanol (y) were positively correlated (r = 0.47, P less than 0.001) and implies that 22% (r2) of the variance in blood-methanol can be attributed to its linear regression on blood-ethanol. The regression equation was y = 3.6 + 2.1 x and the standard error estimate was 0.32 mg/l. This large scatter precludes making reliable estimates of blood-methanol concentration from measurements of blood-ethanol concentration and the regression equation. But higher blood-methanol concentrations are definitely associated with higher blood-ethanol in this sample of Swedish drinking drivers. Frequent exposure to methanol and its toxic products of metabolism, formaldehyde and formic acid, might constitute an additional health risk associated with heavy drinking in predisposed individuals. The determination of methanol in blood of drinking drivers in addition to ethanol could indicate long-standing ethanol intoxication and therefore potential problem drinkers or alcoholics.
在瑞典，法定血液酒精限量为全血0.50毫克/克（11毫摩尔/升），采用顶空气相色谱法测定了519名涉嫌酒后驾车者血液样本中的乙醇和甲醇浓度。血液中乙醇浓度范围为0.01至3.52毫克/克，平均值为1.83±0.82毫克/克（±标准差）。频率分布关于平均值对称，但偏离正态分布。在正态概率纸上绘制相同数据的图表表明，它可能由两个亚群组成（双峰）。同一血液样本中甲醇浓度范围为1至23毫克/升，平均值为7.3±3.6毫克/升（±标准差），且该分布明显右偏（+）。乙醇浓度（x）和甲醇浓度（y）呈正相关（r = 0.47，P<0.001），这意味着血液甲醇中22%（r2）的方差可归因于其对血液乙醇的线性回归。回归方程为y = 3.6 + 2.1x，标准误差估计值为0.32毫克/升。这种较大的离散性使得无法根据血液乙醇浓度测量值和回归方程可靠地估计血液甲醇浓度。但在这个瑞典酒后驾车者样本中，较高的血液甲醇浓度肯定与较高的血液乙醇浓度相关。频繁接触甲醇及其代谢有毒产物甲醛和甲酸，可能会给易感个体带来与大量饮酒相关的额外健康风险。除乙醇外，测定酒后驾车者血液中的甲醇可能表明长期乙醇中毒，因此可能是潜在的问题饮酒者或酗酒者。
