Classification of alcoholics on the basis of plasma β-endorphin concentration

Recent findings suggest that a genetic deficit in opioids may be a biological marker of alcoholism. In other words, decreased plasma concentrations of opioids may be a predisposing factor, rather than a consequence, of alcohol consumption. We attempted to classify 88 randomly chosen individuals as alcoholics or nonalcoholics on the basis of plasma concentration of β-endorphins. This criterion had a sensitivity of 73.30% and a specificity of 79.45%. Its positive predictive value was 42.30%, and its negative predictive value was 93.55%.