Diabetes and the alcohol consumption of AA and ANA rats

Some earlier results have suggested a link between diabetes and voluntary ethanol consumption. Measurement of blood glucose levels now showed, however, that the AA line of rats developed for high alcohol intake is not diabetogenic. The alcohol-avoiding ANA line was somewhat more susceptible to streptozotocin-induced diabetes. Streptozotocin greatly increased blood glucose levels, water intake, and food consumption, but had no effect on the voluntary alcohol drinking of either AA or ANA rats. Normalization of blood glucose levels with insulin from osmotic minipump implants also failed to change their ethanol drinking. Thus, although the evidence from some other lines of rats and mice suggests that alcohol drinking is related to some forms of diabetes, the present results indicate that it is independent of the diabetes induced by streptozotocin and also of water and food intake regulation in this situation.