Determination of Volume of Distribution for Ethanol in Male and Female Subjects

Published: Journal of Analytical Toxicology, Volume 20, Number 5, September 1996, pp. 287-290.

Determination of Volume of Distribution for Ethanol in Male and Female Subjects
J. Mack Cowan, Jr., Alvin Weathermon, J. Rod McCutcheon, Ronald D. Oliver

Ten nonalcoholic subjects gave written informed consent. Six men (aged 25–43) and four women (aged 25–35) were hydrostatically weighed to determine their percentage of body fat and lean weight. Each subject fasted for at least 10 h and then received an oral dose of alcohol (0.9 g per kilogram of lean body weight) calculated to yield a peak alcohol concentration of 0.100 g/210-L breath. Breath alcohol measurements were conducted at 20-min intervals until each subject’s alcohol concentration returned to 0.000 g/210-L breath. All alcohol analyses were conducted on the Intoxilyzer 5000® and reported as g/210-L breath. Female subjects on average reached a lower peak alcohol concentration (mean, 0.086; range, 0.074–0.091 g/210 L) than male subjects (mean, 0.096; range, 0.093–0.101 g/210 L). Females demonstrated a higher average rate of elimination (mean, 0.017; range, 0.014–0.021 g/210 L) than males (mean, 0.015; range, 0.013–0.017 g/210 L). Female subjects on average had a higher percentage of body fat (mean, 26.0; range, 16.7–36.8%) than males (mean, 18.0; range, 10.2–25.3%). The average volume of distribution (Vd), as calculated from percentage of body fat, for the women (mean, 0.63; range, 0.54–0.71) was less than for the men (mean, 0.69; range, 0.63–0.76). The average Vd as calculated from linear regression of the alcohol concentration curve, for thewomen (mean 0.64, range, 0.56–0.71) was also less than for the men (mean, 0.72; range, 0.67–0.77). The data from this limited study indicate that hydrostatic weighing is an acceptable way of determining Vd for both men and women.

Reproduction of editorial content of this journal is prohibited without publisher’s permission.

This article is available in its entirety by fax for $4.00 per page.
Visa or MasterCard accepted.

To order electronically click here
or call: 847-647-2900 ext. 1323
or fax request to: 847-647-1155.

Please indicate JAT volume and issue along with page numbers.