PEth 16:0/18:1 and 16:0/18:2 after consumption of low doses of alcohol-A contribution to cutoff discussion

Phosphatidylethanol in blood has gained recognition as a direct alcohol biomarker. Although different cutoffs have been suggested, there is no consensus for differentiating abstinence from alcohol consumption. In this study, 75 participants (72% female) consumed 20 g of ethanol on three consecutive evenings. Blood was sampled on each following day and PEth 16:0/18:1 and 16:0/18:2 were determined. PEth 16:0/18:1 ranged from 8.9-21.5, 8.7-19.3, and 8.8-42.3 ng/ml and PEth 16:0/18:2 from 8.7-31.7, 9.0-39.3, and 9.4-43.0 ng/ml after the respective days of ethanol consumption. PEth 16:0/18:1 yielded a sensitivity of 25%, 45%, and 49% and PEth 16:0/18:2 of 40%, 61%, and 68% for the consumption days, respectively (cutoff 10 ng/ml). PEth 16:0/18:1 reached >20 ng/ml in five samples overall. Sensitivity of PEth 16:0/18:2 > 20 ng/ml was better with 35% after the three drinking days. Overall, PEth 16:0/18:1 was >35 ng/ml in one sample and PEth 16:0/18:2 in three samples. Significantly, more women had PEth 16:0/18:1 > 10 ng/ml after the third day of consuming 20 g of alcohol (p = 0.02) and PEth 16:0/18:2 > 10 ng/ml after the second (p = 0.023) and the third (p = 0.002) consumption, which can be led back to the higher blood alcohol concentration women reach after consuming the same alcohol amount as men. Although the response rates of PEth to alcohol uptake are subject to strong interindividual differences, results suggest that PEth cutoff should be lowered for better detection of consumption of low to medium amounts of alcohol. Furthermore, it is advantageous to analyze both PEth 16:0/18:2 and 16:0/18:1.