Genetic Factors Predict Alcohol Dependence Risk

A study involving over 5000 same-sex adult twins has revealed links between alcohol consumption rates and genetic risk factors for alcohol dependence (AD). The research indicates that four easy-to-measure indicators were able to pinpoint all of the genetic risk for AD in women and a large percent in men. The four measures studied were: regular quantity, maximum quantity, drinking frequency, and drunk frequency.

“We believe that it would be possible for researchers to obtain these relatively simple self-reported measures for the period of heaviest drinking to index genetic risk rather than the more time consuming and difficult diagnostic assessments of AD,” explains the study’s author, Kenneth S. Kendler. “The practical implications of our results are clear,” added Kendler.  … relatively simple measures of drinking behavior can make the process of risk identification both easier and faster for everyone.”