Association of HLA antigens with alcoholic disease

A sample of 30 alcoholic patients, selected according to a rigorous criterion, was compared with two samples of the general population with respect to the distribution of HLA antigens. The sole inclusion criterion was the presence of signs and symptoms of an alcohol withdrawal syndrome. The alcoholic sample did not differ from the general population sample with respect to ABO blood group distribution, and had minimal evidence of alcoholic liver disease. The alcoholic group showed highly significant differences from the two general population samples with respect to the HLA system, consisting of a much higher frequency of HLA B40 and DR4 antigens and a much lower frequency of DR3. The results are consistent with the view that alcoholism may have a precise genetic determination.