Alcohol Abuse Basics

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High MCV and Alcohol Abuse

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High MCV and alcohol abuse may be correlated, but there are too many intervening variables and factors for an exact determination of alcohol intake.

A Laboratory Test That Can Identify Alcoholism

Unfortunately, there are few, if any definitive laboratory tests that can identify alcoholism. Alcohol abuse and dependency are mainly diagnosed by doctors via screening surveys.

Lab tests help doctors, clinicians, and lab technicians evaluate organ function and help detect chronic and relapse alcohol drinking in individuals who deny their drinking behavior.

For quite a few years, clinicians have had access to a group of biomarkers that indicate a person’s alcohol intake. MCV is one of these biomarkers.

Measure of mean corpuscular volume (MCV), an index of red blood cell size, increases as a person consumes more alcohol.

Abnormality in the size of red blood cells typically confirms alcoholism. Even though MCV has a high correlation with alcohol intake, however, this measurement, by itself, is not the most accurate screening mechanism for alcoholism.

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MCV, Hematocrit, Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse

The MCV index, then, is a not a definite or absolute lab indicator of alcohol intake. MCV is nonspecific due to the fact that various factors may contribute to the change in size of RBCs.

Furthermore, because a person's MCV can remain elevated for several months after a person abstains from drinking alcohol, it is possible that a person could be abstinent and still show an abnormally high MCV. Nevertheless, MCV adds to the existence and evidence of alcoholism and alcohol abuse.

In other words, high MCV and alcohol abuse may be correlated, but there are too many intervening variables and factors for an exact determination of alcohol intake.

Hematocrit is a measure of the number of red blood cells as well as the size of these cells. MCV is the measurement of the average size of the red blood cells (RBC). The MCV index increases when the RBCs are larger than normal (macrocytic) and decreases when the RBCs are smaller than normal (microcytic).

A national team of investigators led by psychiatric geneticists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified a gene that appears to be linked to both alcoholism and depression. This gene might be a susceptibility gene that puts a person at risk for developing both alcoholism and depression.

The MCV index can be calculated by multiplying the hematocrit percentage by ten and then dividing the result by the RBC (red blood cell) count. The result is typically reported in femtoliters (fl.). The normal MCV range for people without increased or decreased RBCs is usually 80-96 fl.

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Readings as high as 121 fl., however, can be observed in alcoholics. MCV that is calculated by automated equipment is compared to RBC morphology on a peripheral blood smear. This determines the accuracy of the MCV test. Any variation indicates either faulty equipment or technician error.

Family members often deny or minimize alcohol problems and unwittingly contribute to the continuation of alcoholism by well-meaning behaviors such as shielding the alcoholic from adverse consequences of drinking or taking over family or economic responsibilities.

High MCV and Alcohol Abuse: Conclusion

Due to the fact that there are few, if any definitive laboratory tests that can identify alcoholism, doctors use various lab tests to evaluate organ function and help detect chronic and relapse alcohol drinking in people who are less than honest about their drinking behavior. Measure of mean corpuscular volume (MCV) is a lab test that indicates a person’s alcohol intake.

While high MCV and alcohol abuse are correlated, MCV does not result in an exact determination of alcohol intake. It does, however, add important information that helps indicate the possible existence and evidence of alcoholism and alcohol abuse.

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In the past, alcoholism was often viewed as a moral weakness or character flaw; it was thought that the person could stop drinking if he or she really wanted to. It wasn't until 1970, with the establishment of NIAAA and a national public education effort, that people began to understand and accept that alcoholism is a life-threatening, chronic disease involving psychological and physical dependence on alcohol.

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