New Research: University Students with a Dense Family History of Alcoholism Are Most at-Risk for Alcohol Use Disorders
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September 12, 2008
While many university students tend to “mature out” of heavy drinking behavior by the time they graduate, some go on to develop alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Most genetic research on an individual’s family history of alcoholism (FHA) has looked at only parental (usually fathers’) alcohol use. New research indicates that looking at the density of FHA, including first-, second-, and third-degree relatives, is much more telling.
“Using a density measure of FHA can identify a greater number of individuals who may be at risk for developing an alcohol problem,” said Christy Capone, a postdoctoral research fellow at Brown University’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies and the study’s first author. “The greater number of affected relatives…the greater the potential risk of developing an AUD. Ours is the first published study to examine this measure among college students.”
The study population for this research consisted of 408 undergraduates from a northeastern university in the United States, who were asked to complete an anonymous survey for course credit during the 2005–2006 academic year.
“The importance of identifying these risk factors is the idea that they can be useful markers of at-risk status and can help us to develop appropriate intervention strategies,” said Capone. “Although, given the fact that many students come to college already having experience with alcohol, I believe that preventive interventions should begin early in the high-school years or during the transition from middle school to high school.”
“It is important to remember that not everyone with density of familial alcoholism will go on to develop a long-term problem with alcohol themselves,” said Capone. “Alcohol dependence is a very complex disorder and FHA is but one influence on its development. However, college students who are heavy drinkers and have a greater density of familial alcoholism are certainly at higher risk of continuing to drink in a problematic fashion after the college years.”
The article, “Density of Familial Alcoholism and Its Effects on Alcohol Use and Problems in College Students,” was published in the August 2008 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
For more information, read the press release, visit the journal’s Web site, or read the abstract.