[Survey of alcohol drinking and results of studies of alcoholism biological markers within the scope of a neurologic occupational medicine study of industrial workers].

As part of a combined neurological and occupational-medical study about potentially neurotoxic agents consumption of alcohol of the probationers as possible influential factor on the nervous system was evaluated. Therefore an injury of industrial workers of different nationalities was performed about the individual alcohol consumption combined with an investigation about so-called alcoholism-markers [gamma-Glutamyltranferase (gGT), mean corpuscular erythrocytes volume (MCV) and Carbohydrate-deficient Transferrin (CDT)]. It was the aim of the study, to give an overview of the amount of alcohol consumption in male industrial workers - and to examine, to what extent connections exist between alcoholism markers and the amount of individual alcohol consumption. We found a high percentage of probationers with alcohol abstinence (53%). The test persons with anamnestic alcohol consumption indicated a mean alcohol consumption of 33,7 g per day (6 to 240 g/d). A significant correlation between changes of laboratory markers and amount of alcohol consumption could only be found for CDT. In addition there was a correlation of CDT with gGT and MCV and of gGT with MCV, but with very small correlation coefficients. After multiple logistic regression and establishing of a prediction model of the consumption of alcohol under knowledge of laboratory results an assignment of the probationers to the respective group (abstinents and/or consumers of alcohol) was not successful with sufficient safety. According to our data in a normal collective a determination of laboratory parameters, which are discussed as alcoholism markers, does not contribute to better delimitation of abstinent living and alcohol drinking persons and to a better knowledge of the amount of alcohol consumption.