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Our genes determine our physical traits and, to some extent, our behavioral characteristics. Genes are made up of DNA, the hereditary material that’s inherited from parents. Our hereditary behaviors interact with our environment to form the basis of our decisions. Some people are more sensitive to stress, making it harder to cope with an unhealthy relationship or a fast-paced job. Some people experience a traumatizing event and turn to alcohol to self-medicate. Anybody can develop an SUD, and they can do it for any number of reasons in their life.
If a person grows up in a house with a parent who abuses drugs, struggles with mental illness, suffers a major financial setback or similar stress, and the child has a gene linked to alcohol use disorder, they are very likely to develop this condition later in life. Prevention and education programs can address this risk as part of regular medical checkups. If you have a is alcoholism inherited family history of alcoholism or other forms of substance abuse, then you have a higher risk of developing a substance use disorder yourself. Today, studies have demonstrated that genes could predispose a person to alcohol dependence. Research like this could help identify people who have a higher risk of misusing alcohol so it can be mitigated and treated appropriately.
What Are the Symptoms of Alcohol Use Disorder?
It’s important to remember that predisposition does not necessarily cause alcoholism to develop but rather contributes to the disease. Therefore, regardless of your predisposition, it’s possible to avoid alcoholism. Certain genes are also known to be protective against alcohol use disorders either by influencing behavior, shifting the body and brain’s response to ethanol, or by uncomfortably impairing your ability to process alcohol effectively. A comprehensive association study conducted jointly by the University of Washington and the University of Queensland meticulously tracked the lives of 5,889 male and female twins, delving deep into the genetics of alcohol use disorder. Genetic testing is already providing opportunities for self-assessment that were impossible in the past, and the demand for genetic profiling will increase in the coming years. Microarrays, often called gene chips, can be used to detect a person’s gene variants as well as variations in gene activity and to produce a series of medical, psychiatric and behavioral recommendations that the individual may take or leave as he or she wishes.
Where the available data are incomplete or insufficient, COGA researchers are seeking these polymorphisms themselves. Of particular value are single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)—sites at which people differ in a single base pair—in or near genes within the regions of interest. COGA investigators are doing additional genotyping of SNPs in and near candidate genes in the regions of linkage for further analysis of linkage and linkage disequilibrium https://ecosoberhouse.com/ (i.e., the nonrandom association of alleles). This should allow the investigators to greatly narrow the regions and to identify individual genes in which variations affect the risk for alcoholism and the other phenotypes they are studying. Genetic factors (i.e., variations in specific genes) account for a substantial portion of the risk for alcoholism. However, identifying those genes and the specific variations involved is challenging.
Functional significance of GWAS variants
These findings suggest that it’s not just a single gene defect but a combination of genes that predispose individuals to alcoholism. The risks of smoking were first widely publicized by the Surgeon General’s Report of 1964, and the combination of that medical information and social pressure has reduced the prevalence of smoking over the subsequent decades. An individual’s awareness of personal genetic medical risks may similarly change his or her choices.
This means that family wealth also contributes to the development of alcoholism. The earlier a person begins to start drinking, the more likely they will develop an alcohol use disorder. A genetic predisposition or genetic susceptibility refers to an increased likelihood that you’ll develop a disease based on your genetic makeup. Your genes may predispose you to it, but you don’t have to let it define or dictate your choices.
Seeking the Connections: Alcoholism and Our Genes
NIAAA is committed to learning more about how genes affect AUD so that treatment—and prevention efforts—can continue to be developed and improved. Concerns about alcohol consumption should be addressed by a medical professional. Feeling out of control in regard to drinking and feeling as though one drinks too much are indicators that there is a problem. Medically supervised detox programs and evidence-based rehabilitation programs are available that specialize in treating AUD.
