Genetic Epidemiology, Translational Neurogenomics, Psychiatric Genetics and Statistical Genetics Laboratories investigate the pattern of disease in families, particularly identical and non-identical twins, to assess the relative importance of genes and environment in a variety of important health problems.
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PMID
31063677
TITLE
Genetic Epidemiology of Liability for Alcohol-Induced Blacking and Passing Out.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND NlmCategory: BACKGROUND
Individuals differ in their sensitivity to alcohol's physiological effects, including blacking and passing out. Blackouts are periods of impaired memory formation when an individual engages in activities they later cannot recall, while passing out results in loss of consciousness.
METHODS NlmCategory: METHODS
Individuals differ in their sensitivity to alcohol's physiological effects, including blacking and passing out. Blackouts are periods of impaired memory formation when an individual engages in activities they later cannot recall, while passing out results in loss of consciousness. The sample consisted of 3,292 adult twins from the Australian Twin Registry. Univariate twin analyses were conducted to examine the contributions of genetic and environmental influences to blacking and passing out occurrence and susceptibility (accounting for frequency of intoxication). Evidence for shared etiology of susceptibility to blacking and passing out was examined using bivariate twin analyses.
RESULTS NlmCategory: RESULTS
Individuals differ in their sensitivity to alcohol's physiological effects, including blacking and passing out. Blackouts are periods of impaired memory formation when an individual engages in activities they later cannot recall, while passing out results in loss of consciousness. The sample consisted of 3,292 adult twins from the Australian Twin Registry. Univariate twin analyses were conducted to examine the contributions of genetic and environmental influences to blacking and passing out occurrence and susceptibility (accounting for frequency of intoxication). Evidence for shared etiology of susceptibility to blacking and passing out was examined using bivariate twin analyses. Although blacking and passing out were strongly associated (odds ratio (OR) = 4.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): [3.85, 5.14]), the genetic epidemiology was quite different. Genetic (43%) and nonshared environmental (57%) influences contributed to liability for blackout occurrence. For passing out occurrence, there was evidence of sex differences. Among men, genetic (32%) and nonshared environmental (68%) influences contributed, whereas among women, there were shared (29%) and nonshared environmental (72%) influences. After accounting for frequency of intoxication, genetic influences on blackout susceptibility remained significant; in contrast, only nonshared environmental influences were significant for passing out susceptibility. There was evidence for overlapping genetic and nonshared environmental factors influencing susceptibility to blacking and passing out among men; among women, there were overlapping nonshared environmental influences.
CONCLUSIONS NlmCategory: CONCLUSIONS
Individuals differ in their sensitivity to alcohol's physiological effects, including blacking and passing out. Blackouts are periods of impaired memory formation when an individual engages in activities they later cannot recall, while passing out results in loss of consciousness. The sample consisted of 3,292 adult twins from the Australian Twin Registry. Univariate twin analyses were conducted to examine the contributions of genetic and environmental influences to blacking and passing out occurrence and susceptibility (accounting for frequency of intoxication). Evidence for shared etiology of susceptibility to blacking and passing out was examined using bivariate twin analyses. Although blacking and passing out were strongly associated (odds ratio (OR) = 4.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): [3.85, 5.14]), the genetic epidemiology was quite different. Genetic (43%) and nonshared environmental (57%) influences contributed to liability for blackout occurrence. For passing out occurrence, there was evidence of sex differences. Among men, genetic (32%) and nonshared environmental (68%) influences contributed, whereas among women, there were shared (29%) and nonshared environmental (72%) influences. After accounting for frequency of intoxication, genetic influences on blackout susceptibility remained significant; in contrast, only nonshared environmental influences were significant for passing out susceptibility. There was evidence for overlapping genetic and nonshared environmental factors influencing susceptibility to blacking and passing out among men; among women, there were overlapping nonshared environmental influences. Blacking and passing out are 2 common sedative-like effects of heavy drinking, and people differ considerably in their susceptibility to these effects. This study suggests that differences in blackout susceptibility can be explained by genetic factors in both men and women, while differences in susceptibility to pass out after consuming alcohol may be attributable to environmental influences, particularly among women. These environmental factors may include changing social and cultural norms about alcohol use, drinking context, and the type(s) of alcohol consumed.
© 2019 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.
DATE PUBLISHED
2019 May 07
HISTORY
PUBSTATUS PUBSTATUSDATE
received 2019/01/22
accepted 2019/04/02
entrez 2019/05/08 06:00
pubmed 2019/05/08 06:00
medline 2019/05/08 06:00
AUTHORS
NAME COLLECTIVENAME LASTNAME FORENAME INITIALS AFFILIATION AFFILIATIONINFO
Davis CN Davis Christal N CN Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.
Slutske WS Slutske Wendy S WS Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.
Martin NG Martin Nicholas G NG QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Agrawal A Agrawal Arpana A Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri.
Lynskey MT Lynskey Michael T MT Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
INVESTIGATORS
JOURNAL
VOLUME:
ISSUE:
TITLE: Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research
ISOABBREVIATION: Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res.
YEAR: 2019
MONTH: May
DAY: 07
MEDLINEDATE:
SEASON:
CITEDMEDIUM: Internet
ISSN: 1530-0277
ISSNTYPE: Electronic
MEDLINE JOURNAL
MEDLINETA: Alcohol Clin Exp Res
COUNTRY: England
ISSNLINKING: 0145-6008
NLMUNIQUEID: 7707242
PUBLICATION TYPE
PUBLICATIONTYPE TEXT
Journal Article
COMMENTS AND CORRECTIONS
GRANTS
GRANTID AGENCY COUNTRY
DA18267 National Institutes of Health
T32AA013526 National Institutes of Health
GENERAL NOTE
KEYWORDS
KEYWORD
Alcohol Sensitivity
Blackout
Passing Out
Sex Differences
Twin Study
MESH HEADINGS
SUPPLEMENTARY MESH
GENE SYMBOLS
CHEMICALS
OTHER ID's