Familial transmission of alcohol use, III. Impact of imitation non-imitation of parent alcohol use (1960) on the sensible/problem drinking of their offspring (1977)

Imitation/non-imitation by adult offspring of alcohol-related parent behavior was examined in the context of the fall-off effect’ and of sensible/problem alcohol use, two processes which tend to constrain drinking. Evidence indicates there is more imitation by adult offspring of abstemious parents (both abstainer and low volume) than of high volume parents. Adult offspring drink significantly less, on the average, than their high volume parents, a phenomenon here termed‘fall-off effect’ for both men and women with respect to either their fathers or mothers. This fall-off among social drinkers appears when the mother approaches or the father consumes at or more than a typical daily drinking level (≥1 drink per day). More sensible drinking occurs among adult offspring when (I) the parent has no drinking problem-signs than when the parent has drinking problems (this pattern appears at all levels of offspring consumption), and (2) when parents drink at high volume and have no problems for those offspring who do not imitate parent volume. Drinking “sensibly’ appears to be associated directly with the level of parent alcohol use and offsprings’ own drinking levels (considered as imitation or non-imitation of parents), and indirectly with offspring recall of problematic intake by parents. Drinking sensibly is a medical, education and public health issue.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72393/1/j.1360-0443.1990.tb03439.x.pd

Familial transmission of alcohol use: V. Drinking patterns among spouses, Tecumseh, Michigan

This study examined concordance and discordance of self-reported alcohol consumption in 184 spouse pairs drawn from a representative sample of the Tecumseh, MI community. A significant association (tau B=.57, p <.001) between self-reported alcohol consumption of husbands and that of wives was observed. Drinking daily and high maximum drinking were also significantly correlated between spouses, as were church attendance, smoking, impulsivity, and sociability. A significant association between the drinking of wives and that of their mothers-in-law was noted. The relationship between husbands' drinking and that of their fathers-in-law was marginally significant. However, three-quarters of daughters of heavy-drinking fathers (21 of 28) married abstemious men (never drank or drank lightly), while only 7% married heavy-drinking husbands. These findings lend support to the idea that a network of familial influences—both primary and secondary assortative mating—contributes to regulating adult drinking behavior.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44107/1/10519_2005_Article_BF01066793.pd

Alcohol Usage and Blood Pressure: A Review

This paper reviews research addressing the relationship be­tween alcohol usage and blood pressure levels. In non-alcoholic samples, the heaviest drinkers have the highest mean blood pressure when compared to moderate or light drinkers. These results appear to be stronger for systolic than for diastolic. Several studies show a less clear pattern, particularly when age is taken into account. At the low end of the drinking spectrum, the evidence is conflicting both between and within each sex: U-shaped, J- shaped, linear and threshold patterns have been reported. Studies which tested the relationship of alcohol to various physiologic correlates are re­viewed; a number of hypotheses are discussed (e.g., direct pressor effect, withdrawal effect), and several are raised for future research.Despite the lack of clear evidence for an independent relationship, the clinical, epidemiological, and experimental research strongly suggests that heavy consumers of alcohol are at risk for the development of high blood pressure. The findings have implications for physicians with respect to the non-pharmacological treatment of hypertension, as well as for public health policy relevant to prevention

Association Between a Dopamine-4 Receptor Polymorphism and Blood Pressure

Background: Dopamine receptor genes are candidates for hypertension susceptibility. Locally released dopamine increases renal sodium excretion, and defective renal dopamine receptor signaling has been shown to play a role in hypertension. Dopamine-4 receptors are expressed in juxtaglomerular and cortical collecting cells, where dopamine activation could alter sodium and water metabolism and affect blood pressure (BP). The dopamine-4 receptor (DRD4) gene has a 16 amino acid (48 base pairs [bp]) repeat polymorphism located in exon 3 where a G-protein binding area is encoded. The long allele (defined as at least one 7 to 10 repeat) has been associated with the personality trait Novelty Seeking and with substance abuse, but associations between dopamine-4 receptor polymorphisms and BP have not been reported. Methods: We genotyped 479 female and 385 male subjects of white ethnicity at the DRD4 repeat polymorphism site and classified each subject as having either the long or short genotype. Results: We found associations between the DRD4 long allele and increased systolic BP (P = .031), diastolic BP (P = .034), and a history of regular alcohol use (P = .008). Furthermore, for systolic BP (P = .009) and pulse pressure (P = .002), we found evidence for an interaction between dopamine-4 receptor alleles and age, indicating that the effects of dopamine-4 receptor variants on BP increase with age. Conclusion: In this white population, the long variant of the DRD4 gene is associated with a 3-mm Hg higher systolic and 2-mm Hg higher diastolic BP

A BDNF Coding Variant Is Associated with the NEO Personality Inventory Domain Neuroticism, a Risk Factor for Depression

Genetic factors influence vulnerability to depression (Sullivan et al, 2000), but no specific genes have been definitively implicated. One promising approach is to determine whether variations in specific (candidate) genes are associated not with disease per se, but with traits, such as personality factors, that are themselves associated with risk for the disorder (Lander and Schork, 1994; Stoltenberg and Burmeister, 2000). Often such traits have a higher heritability than the disease status (Almasy and Blangero, 2001). Neuroticism, as measured by the NEO personality inventory (NEO-PI) (Costa and McCrae, 1997), a psychometrically sound and widely used instrument, is one such trait. High scorers on the Neuroticism domain are characterized by frequent experience of “negative emotionality” such as anxiety, low mood, and hostility. Converging lines of evidence point to brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as a factor in the pathophysiology of depression. To explore the possibility that variation in the BDNF gene is, in part, responsible for the population variation in Neuroticism, we studied a community sample of 441 subjects, genotyping a G→A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) responsible for a valine→methionine substitution in the prodomain of BDNF. The less common, nonconserved Met allele was associated with significantly lower mean Neuroticism scores (p = 0.0057). Our study provides further evidence and one possible mechanism linking BDNF to depression

Serotonin Transporter and GABA(A) Alpha 6 Receptor Variants Are Associated with Neuroticism

Background: A tendency to experience negative affect, as measured by the neuroticism component of the Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness Personality Inventory (NEO-PI), is a trait marker for major depression. Epidemiologic studies indicate a strong genetic component, but to date few specific genetic variants have been definitively implicated. A serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) has been extensively studied in neuroticism and several psychiatric disorders, with inconclusive results. A GABA(A) receptor α6 subunit variant (Pro385Ser) has been associated with alcohol-related traits but has not been studied in neuroticism or depression. Methods: A total of 384 subjects who completed the NEO-PI were genotyped at 5-HTTLPR and Pro385Ser. Associations between polymorphisms and both alcohol use and personality domains were tested. Results: The 5-HTTLPR short allele (p = .008) and Pro385Ser Pro allele (p = .003) are associated with higher neuroticism scores. The 5-HTTLPR long allele (p = .006), but not Pro385Ser, is also associated with an increased presence of alcohol use. In addition, there is a nonsignificant suggestion of an interaction: the effect of 5-HTTLPR on neuroticism might be dependent on the Pro385Ser genotype. Conclusions: These findings support a role for the serotonin transporter and GABA(A) α6 subunit in depression-related traits

Erythrocyte sodium-lithium countertransport and blood pressure: a genome-wide linkage study

Increased activity of erythrocyte sodium-lithium countertransport is associated with essential hypertension. Sodium-lithium countertransport is highly heritable, but no single gene product mediating the exchange or explaining the association of increased sodium-lithium countertransport activity and hypertension has been identified. We performed a linkage study by using erythrocyte sodium-lithium countertransport as a quantitative phenotype and genome-wide markers at an average resolution of approximately 10 cM to identify quantitative trait loci explaining sodium-lithium countertransport activity. A peak LOD score of 2.83 was detected on chromosome 15q at D15S642, a marker previously shown to be linked to blood pressure. Several genes mapped to this region are possible candidates for factors affecting erythrocyte sodium-lithium countertransport and/or blood pressure. Further studies confirming the presence of a quantitative trait locus in this region and evaluating these candidate genes may help explain the association of elevated sodium-lithium countertransport and hypertension