Research & Resources

Research has shown the development of alcohol use and other substance use disorders has a genetic component. A new paper sheds light on this process and identifies specific genes that likely contribute to both alcohol consumption and use disorder. Scientists conducted a genome-wide association study to search for specific genes that are statistically associated with different types of drinking behavior. Researchers found that propensity for consumption was associated with actual alcohol use and other drinking outcomes. They recommended future research to look at how multiple genes contribute to these complex behaviors. This paper, “The genetic relationship between alcohol consumption and aspects of problem drinking in an ascertained sample,” was funded by a collaborative grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It was published in the journal, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.