Overview of the Genetics of Alcohol Use Disorder PMC

The inclusion of data from different ancestral groups in this study cannot and should not be used to assign or categorize variable genetic risk for substance use disorder to specific populations. As genetic information is used to better understand human health and health inequities, expansive and inclusive data collection is essential. NIDA and other Institutes at NIH supported a recently released report on responsible use and interpretation of population-level genomic data, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Published today in Nature Mental Health, the study was led by researchers at the Washington University in St. Louis, along with more than 150 coauthors from around the world. Your socioeconomic status can directly affect your mental and physical well-being. If you live in a situation of poverty, for example, or in an area with limited resources, you may be less likely to have access to quality foods, community services, or adequate healthcare. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, text revision (DSM-5-TR), a clinical diagnostic guidebook, indicates that AUD often runs in families at a rate of 3–4 times higher compared with the general population.

Genetics and Alcoholism: Is Alcoholism Genetic or Hereditary?

It also includes binge drinking — a pattern of drinking where a male has five or more drinks within two hours or a female has at least four drinks within two hours. Despite these advances, the molecular genetic investigation of the AUD diagnosis faces multiple challenges moving forward. Perhaps the largest challenge is the way in which the AUD diagnosis is operationalized. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ The DSM-5 [1] currently requires the endorsement of any 2 of 11 criteria to reach the diagnostic threshold for AUD at the mild severity level. A study in Sweden followed alcohol use in twins who were adopted as children and reared apart. The incidence of alcoholism was slightly higher among people who were exposed to alcoholism only through their adoptive families.

The alcohol research
community has begun to form larger consortia for meta-analyses and it is anticipated
that with the resulting increase in sample size the number of robust associations
will increase. A second approach that will likely benefit the alcohol research
community will be greater examination of pathways or gene sets. These approaches
have been quite fruitful for some studies and need to be employed in analyses of
alcohol-related traits and phenotypes. Over the next few years, we anticipate the
identification of additional common and rare variants contributing to the risk of
alcohol dependence. It is important to understand your risk factors for developing an addiction, such as a family history of alcoholism and environmental influences.

Alcohol metabolism and the risk for AUD

But while genetics influence our likelihood of developing alcoholism, it’s more complex. Research has suggested that it’s a combination of the above risk factors as well as genetics that could determine whether or not you develop alcohol use disorder. Other than genetics, there are a number of risk factors for developing alcohol use disorder. The gene variations that result in things like nausea, headaches, and skin flushing with alcohol consumption may be more common in those of Asian or Jewish descent.

A 2008 study conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) (a section of the National Institutes of Health) reviewed much of the research on this condition and genetics. The study concluded that genetic factors account for percent of the variance among people who have a problem with alcoholism. Since then, scientists have identified some specific genes that contribute to a genetic predisposition to alcohol abuse. Many people wonder about the causes of alcohol use disorder and whether it’s genetic.

Candidate gene studies of AUD and related traits

Environmental factors also account for the risk of alcohol and drug abuse.2 Scientists are learning more about how epigenetics affect our risk of developing AUD. Addiction is thought to have a heritable component—meaning that a person’s genetic makeup can influence their risk of developing conditions such as an alcohol use disorder. Moreover, aggressive marketing strategies by alcohol brands, offering promotions is alcoholism inherited and discounts, can further entice individuals, especially those with a genetic predisposition to alcoholism, to indulge more than they might have otherwise. It’s crucial for regulatory bodies to monitor and control such influences, ensuring that they don’t exacerbate the substance use disorders already prevalent in society. Our genetics and environment interact complexly and affect our daily choices.

• While the underlying pathophysiology of AUD is poorly understood, there is substantial evidence for a genetic component; however, identification of universal genetic risk variants for AUD has been difficult.
• One sample using male twins from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry reported different heritability estimates for 23 symptoms of alcohol dependence, further highlighting the heterogeneity of AUD (Slutske et al., 1999).
• Thus it is not surprising that diseases of the GI system,
  including cirrhosis, pancreatitis, and cancers of the upper GI tract are affected by
  alcohol consumption80-86.
• It’s tricky to spot the difference between alcohol addiction and having a drink every once in awhile.

Alcohol metabolism is a two-step process where ethanol is first oxidized to acetaldehyde by ADH and then further oxidized to acetate by ALDH. Accumulation of the toxic intermediate acetaldehyde can cause adverse physiological symptoms, including flushing syndrome, tachycardia, and nausea. The rate at which acetaldehyde is produced and converted to the waste product acetate is influenced by genetic variations encoding the isoenzymes of ADH and ALDH. Individuals with isoforms of ADH that oxidize ethanol at a faster rate and/or isoforms of ALDH that oxidize acetaldehyde at a slower rate are protected against AUD due to the unpleasant effects that result from acetaldehyde accumulation. Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic psychiatric condition characterized by drinking patterns that lead to detrimental emotional, physical, and social outcomes.

Medical Professionals

Recent genome-wide studies (GWAS) have pinpointed specific genetic variants linked to this predisposition. If anyone is exposed to large amounts of an addictive substance over an extended period, it is likely that their brain will rewire to crave the substance. Even without a genetic component present, a person can still inherit a predisposition to alcohol use disorder due to the culture they grow up in. Although alcohol consumption does not affect all people equally, according to scientists, different endorphin levels make these individuals more sensitive to alcohol and, therefore, more susceptible to being dependent. Prevention and education programs can address this risk as part of regular medical checkups.

• Some people experience a traumatizing event and turn to alcohol to self-medicate.
• Linkage studies are limited in terms of their spatial resolution, and thus, association studies that measure differences in allele frequencies between ‘case’ and ‘control’ populations were also pursued.
• The unpleasant symptoms of drinking “protect” them from consuming too much alcohol.
• DSM-V[14, 15] on the other hand consolidated AD and abuse as a single disorder as AUD[15],[16].