Interpretation of Hair Ethyl Glucuronide Inter-Individual Factors from Large Population Dataset

    June 2014 in “ Toxicologie analytique et clinique/Annales de toxicologie analytique ”
    Marco Vincenti, Sergio Pellegrino, Valentina Pirro, Alberto Salomone
    TLDR Older age increases positive hair alcohol test results, and chest hair is a good alternative for testing; season affects results, with higher levels in winter.
    The study analyzed hair ethyl glucuronide (HEtG) levels in a large cohort of 20,293 subjects to assess factors influencing the results. It found significant differences in HEtG levels based on age, with older individuals showing higher levels, but no differences based on gender or BMI. Chest hair was validated as a reliable alternative to scalp hair for HEtG testing. Seasonal variations were observed, with higher HEtG levels in winter and lower in summer, suggesting that external factors like sweating and hair washing frequency could bias results. These findings highlight the importance of considering sampling season when interpreting HEtG concentrations.
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