Delphi Behavioral Health Group (November 19, 2018). Genetics of Alcoholism. Addiction Center.
The writers examine the effects of parents’ predisposition to alcoholism and its effects on the children. They claim that the DNA passed down to children from their parents control a child’s physical characteristics and behaviors including the inclination to alcoholism. There are considerations for the fact that an individual’s environment can dictate alcoholism since some people who are highly susceptible to alcohol abuse and not taking it in their lifetime. The article highlights the presence of particular genes that heightens the possibility of developing an alcohol disorder. A combination of specific behavioral genes, according to the writers, is a major cause of alcoholism. People who are suffering from mental disorders schizophrenia tend to resort to alcoholism as a way of coping. Environmental factors such as exposure to violence, accessibility of alcohol, peer pressure and physical and sexual abuse are also seen to increase the likelihood of one becoming an alcoholic. This article is important in determining both the genetic and environmental factors that lead to alcoholism.
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Edenberg, H. J., & Foroud, T. (2013).Genetics and alcoholism. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology , 10 (8), 487.
According to the writers, dependence on alcohol is largely associated with a complex genetic disease. A big number of genes influence a person’s inclination to take alcohol. The ADH1B and ALDH2 genes are responsible for the metabolism of alcohol. A variation in the GABRA2, CHRM2 , KCNJ6 and AUTS2 genes increase the threat of alcoholism and other related behaviors. Through studies, it is recorded that the risks of alcohol related diseases are affected by the genes which determine the amount of alcohol that a person consumes. The genes influence alcoholism either directly or indirectly. In an example of twins from alcoholic biological fathers reared separately, those who were exposed to alcoholism in their adoptive families at a younger age showed a higher tendency to abuse alcohol compared to those who were not exposed to alcohol. This indicated the role that environment plays in developing an alcoholic person. The research by this article credits much influence into alcoholism to genes rather than the environment.
Edenberg, H. J., & Foroud, T. (2014).Genetics of alcoholism.In Handbook of clinical neurology (Vol. 125, pp. 561-571).Elsevier.
This article relies on various analyses on alcohol-related phenotypes achieved through diagnosis and quantitative techniques related to alcohol use disorders. The resultant evidence indicates a strong influence of genetic factors on alcoholism. The research recorded used genetic linkages, gene analysis studies, genome-wide association studies among other variants to arrive at tangible conclusions. The aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 and alcohol dehydrogenase 1B have been identified to reduce the risks of indulging in alcoholism. The ADH effects can cluster in two levels which indicate a gradual increase in alcohol dependency from a child’s early age up to the levels of chronic alcoholism. A variation in stress-related genes such as the CRHR1 implies a possible exposure to risks of early life trauma. The multi-faceted approach indicates that individuals with psychiatric abnormalities are likely to abuse alcohol. Continuous accumulation of alcoholic elements in the blood due to lack of oxidation present a distortion of the DNA and subsequent transmission of the diseased gene to offspring.
Enoch, M. A. (2013). Genetic influences on the development of alcoholism. Current psychiatry reports , 15 (11), 412.
Alcoholism can be caused by deviations in alcohol-metabolizing genes and a heightened vulnerability to alcohol’s seductive influence. The susceptibility brought about by the genes is supposedly conferred by genes of a minute to average influence. This may include the interaction between the genes and the environment. The writer cites some anti-social behavior as a result of merging of childhood maltreatment and the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene. Since the gene is associated with the prediction of alcohol-related behaviors, its interaction with the harsh childhood experiences intensifies the possibility of alcohol abuse by the child. Other variants such as in a serotonin transporter promoter may interact with life stressors hence becoming a predictor of depression in humans and alcoholism in other primates. The book records that depending on the drinking environment, a known Met158 variant in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene can cause both threat and resilience to drunkenness. The underlying factor of dependence on alcohol is in the complex blending of both the genes and the environment.
Schuckit, M. A. (2014). A brief history of research on the genetics of alcohol and other drug use disorders. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Supplement , (s17), 59-67.
The authors of this article sought to find out the genetic impacts on alcohol and other disorders related to drugs. The method used in the research was a thorough literature review on the topic. The findings presented the complexity associated with substance abuse disorders. Up to 60% of alcoholism cases are genetically influenced. There was a realization that these genes are present in children of alcoholic parents but are only exhibited when they interact with other factors. The suggested methods of research include linkage, association, and genome-wide association. These explicitly indicate that the extent of genetic deviations impacts phenomena associated with substance abuse. The research indicated that the past 75 years have been revolutionary regarding genetic studies about drugs use and addiction. The invention of better and improved techniques has boosted the research and the subsequent results. None of the findings indicate the absence of genetic influence on alcoholism. The writer wholly relies on the written works to prove this assertion.
Treatment Professionals. (November 26, 2018). Is Alcoholism Hereditary or Genetic ? American Addiction Centers
This article utilizes medical perspectives to prove the habits of alcohol abuse are passed down, through genes, from parents to their children. The genetically transmitted disease according to these authors entails the presence of an abnormality in the genome received from the parent. There is a contrast between genetics and heredity. Alcoholism that is caused by heredity means that a child received a genetic mutation from the parents’ DNA. The writers contend that genetics contribute to above 50% of the chronic alcoholism cases. Through a 2008 study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), it was found out that particular genes are the real causes of alcoholism. Manifestations of the alcohol-related genes are; smaller amygdala (having a high tendency to crave for alcohol), various warning signals when they want to stop taking alcohol, and unusual serotonin intensities (associated with depression and predisposition to alcoholism). This article successfully applies medical views in unraveling the association between alcohol and genes.
Verhulst, B., Neale, M. C., & Kendler, K. S. (2015). The heritability of alcohol use disorders: a meta-analysis of twin and adoption studies. Psychological medicine , 45 (5), 1061-1072.
The research conducted here focused on clarifying the part played by genetic and environmental aspects in alcohol use disorders. A case study of 12 twins and five adoption studies were used to arrive at reliable conclusions. Through literature review, the exceptional twin and adoption inquiries were keenly studied. The parameters of sex, assessment method, and study design were cross-checked to find relatedness. Those who were exposed to alcohol in their adoptive homes were more inclined to alcohol use disorder.
Similarly, the biological children of alcoholic parents also showed a higher tendency to use alcohol, regardless of whether or not alcohol was present in the adoptive homes. According to the writers, more than 50% of alcohol use disorder is genetically transmitted. There are environmental factors that intensify the emergence of alcoholism. There is strong evidence to confirm the claim that genes alongside other factors have a role in causing alcoholism in individuals.
Research Proposal
Topic: Alcoholism and Genetics
There is much scientific substantiation that associates genetic components with the tendency to abuse alcohol. Other studies indicate that environmental factors are also profound in determining a person’s likelihood to abuse drugs (Schuckit, 2014, p.62). An early predisposition to alcohol can easily result in addiction. However, this fact can be challenged because there are individuals who drink modestly while some never take alcohol even if they were born by alcoholic parents. Genetic components, therefore, are seen to contribute more than half of the alcoholic cases.
A whole person’s character traits are shaped by the environment that he or she dwells in. Alcoholic use disorders can be influenced by environmental and social factors which include; accessibility of alcohol, physical and sexual abuse at childhood, exposure to violence, and peer pressure (Enoch, 2013, p. 56). An early predisposition to alcohol can easily result in addiction. The claim that environmental factors cause alcoholism can also be seen in a case where a child born of non-alcoholic parents develops alcoholic habits due to the trauma of possible childhood abuses (Schuckit, 2014, p.64). In many instances, these factors blend with the genetic component to successfully arouse the urge to drink alcohol. When an individual is exposed to continuous large portions of addictive substances, the brain is tuned to yearn for the substance. In the case of alcohol, a person can develop an alcohol use disorder, without any genetic elements present. This indicates that the genetic factor may be dormant and is subdued by environmental factors that cause alcoholism.
Alcoholism has a genetic element (Enoch, 2013, p. 41). A family’s history of alcoholism is linked with the high possibility of alcohol abuse disorder. Children whose parents are alcoholic are three times more likely to use alcohol in their lifetime due to the genes they receive from the parents. There are particular gene combinations that lead to a high tendency to abuse alcohol. An allele in the DRD2 gene exhibits a high association between the gene and alcoholism. Presence of the alcohol-related genes in an individual’s body is seen in his or her emotional reactions to depression, and inability to resist cravings for alcohol and the warning signs when they want to quit drinking. Genes that cause mental disorder are highly associated with alcoholism ( Enoch, 2013, p.32) . This owes to the fact that the mentally disturbed individual seeks solace from drinking alcohol. Some genes have a direct influence on alcohol consumption while others have indirect impacts, hence the difference in levels of alcohol use disorders.
A combination of both genetic and environmental factors leads to alcohol use disorder.
References
Delphi Behavioral Health Group (November 19 2018). Genetics of Alcoholism. Addiction Center
Edenberg, H. J., &Foroud, T. (2013).Genetics and alcoholism. Nature reviews Gastroenterology &hepatology , 10 (8), 487.
Edenberg, H. J., &Foroud, T. (2014).Genetics of alcoholism.In Handbook of clinical neurology (Vol. 125, pp. 561-571).Elsevier.
Enoch, M. A. (2013). Genetic influences on the development of alcoholism. Current psychiatry reports , 15 (11), 412.
Schuckit, M. A. (2014). A brief history of research on the genetics of alcohol and other drug use disorders. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Supplement , (s17), 59-67.
Treatment Professionals. (November 26 2018). Is Alcoholism Hereditary or Genetic ? American Addiction Center
Verhulst, B., Neale, M. C., &Kendler, K. S. (2015). The heritability of alcohol use disorders: a meta-analysis of twin and adoption studies. Psychological medicine , 45 (5), 1061-1072.
