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CDC, ATSDR

Toxicant and Disease Database

The CHE Toxicant and Disease Database is a searchable database that summarizes links between chemical contaminants and approximately 180 human diseases or conditions. Diseases and or toxicants can be viewed by utilizing the search options below. See a full description of the database and our methodology.

See also our compilation of other Databases and Resources

For questions or comments about the database, please contact us through our Contact form.

ethyl alcohol (ethanol)

CAS number: 64-17-5

Diseases linked to this toxicant    Grouped by strength of evidence

Strong Evidence

Acute hepatocellular injury (hepatitis)s

ADD/ADHD, hyperactivity

Behavioral problems

Breast cancer

Cardiac congenital malformations

Cirrhosis

Cognitive impairment (includes impaired learning, impaired memory, and decreased attention span) / mental retardation / developmental delay

Congenital malformations - general

Cranio-facial malformations

Delayed growth

Esophageal cancer

Fetal alcohol syndrome / fetal solvent syndrome

Fetotoxicity (miscarriage / spontaneous abortion, stillbirth)

Hearing loss

Hepatocellular cancer (liver cancer)

Hormonal changes (levels of circulating sex hormones - FSH/LH, Inhibin, and/or estrogens, progesterones, androgens, prolactin)

Laryngeal cancer

Low birth weight / small for gestational age / intra-uterine growth retardation

Pancreatitis

Porphyria (toxic)

Psychiatric disturbances (disorientation, hallucinations, psychosis, delirium, paranoias, anxiety/depression, emotional lability, mood changes, euphoria)

Reduced fertility - male (infertility and subfertility)

Skeletal malformations

Steatosis (fatty liver)

Testicular toxicity

Good Evidence

Menstrual disorders (abnormal bleeding, short cycles, long cycles, irregular cycles, painful periods)

Myelodysplastic syndrome (pre-leukemia)

Oral cancer

Oral clefts (cleft lip and palate)

Limited Evidence

Abnormal sperm (morphology, motility, and sperm count)

Color vision disturbance

Genito-urinary malformations (includes male and female)

References for our 2011 disease list

Carpenter DO, Arcaro K, Spink DC. Understanding the human health effects of chemical mixtures. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2002;110(suppl 1):25-42.

Cordero JF. Effect of environmental agents on pregnancy outcomes: disturbances of prenatal growth and development. Medical Clinics of North America. 1990;74(2):279-290.

Damgaard IN, Jensen TK, Petersen JH, Skakkebaek NE, Toppari J, Main KM. Cryptorchidism and maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2007 Feb;115(2):272-7.

DeBruin LS, Josephy PD. Perspectives on the chemical etiology of breast cancer. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2002 Feb;110 Suppl 1:119-28.

Greenlee AR, Arbuckle TE, Chyou PH. Risk factors for female infertility in an agricultural region. Epidemiology. 2003; 14(4):429-436.

Hruska KS, Furth PA, Seifer DB, Sharara FI, Flaws JA. Environmental factors in infertility. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2000 Dec;43(4):821-9.

Klaassen CD, Ed. Casarett and Doull's Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons, 6th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill 2001.

Kukull WA, Larson EB et al. Solvent exposure as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease: a case-control study. American Journal of Epidemiology. 1995 Jun 1;141(11):1059-71; discussion 1072-9.

LaDou J, Ed. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 3rd Edition. New York: Lange Medical/McGraw-Hill Company, 2004.

Landrigan PJ, Garg A. Chronic effects of toxic environmental exposures on children's health. Journal of Toxicology. Clinical Toxicology. 2002;40(4):449-56.

Leikin JB, Davis A et al. Selected topics related to occupational exposures. Part IV. Occupational liver disease. Disease-a-Month. 2000 Apr;46(4):296-310.

Li D. Molecular epidemiology of pancreatic cancer. Cancer Journal. 2001 Jul-Aug;7(4):259-65.

Rom WM. Environmental and Occupational Medicine, 3rd Edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Publishers, 1998.