The systematized and proper sized research of alcohol pharmacokinetics in Korean has not reported ever.

Aim of this study is to measure the β value and alcohol pharmacokinetic factors in Korean adult female and the relationship between the β value and some variables including age, smoking, total body water, drinking capacity, BMI, blood cholesterol, body fat and body fat ratio.

Ninety-one subjects were randomly divided into two groups. One group was provided as much as 0.35 mg/mL/kg of alcohol and the other as much as 0.70 mg/mL/kg, and blood alcohol concentration was measured 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 min after the women finished drinking.

The subjects’ mean alcohol elimination rate (β) was −0.002379 mg/100 mL·h, and there was no statistically significant difference in elimination rate between the two groups. The mean time to reach maximum blood alcohol concentration was 45 minutes, alcohol absorption rate was 0.1123 ± 0.1799 g/L/min, and the area under the concentration curve was 109.15 ± 62.95. Among the factors that correlated with alcohol metabolism, alcohol absorption rate and follicle-stimulating hormone were statistically significant, but age, body mass index, and body fat percentage were not significantly correlated with alcohol metabolism.

These results suggest that the β values for healthy Korean females can differ from the cut-offs that are currently used in Korea, which suggests that the legal limit for driving under intoxication should be adjusted.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.