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But your upbringing and environment can also influence your alcohol intake habits. The most important thing to remember is that resigning from alcohol abuse is never okay. Not only is alcoholism a progressive disease, but it is also a fatal one.
- Most GWAS are case-control studies or studies of quantitative traits in
unrelated subjects, but family-based GWAS provide another approach. - Having a close relative, such as a parent or sibling, who struggles with alcohol use disorder increases the chances that a person will also struggle with the same addiction.
It is easy to see these preventative measures on paper, and we understand they might not resonate until someone you know has developed a substance use disorder. With addiction, we always recommend being compassionate yet proactive and to seek alcohol addiction help immediately if the problems with alcohol in your family have progressed into a dangerous situation. Any use of alcohol is not recommended if an underlying mental health condition is present, and overuse of alcohol should be considered a huge warning flag for the development of progressive alcoholism. Even more prevalent than these factors is engaging in enabling and sympathetic drinking with a significant other who is abusing alcohol.
Alcoholism in Numbers
In studies of babies separated at birth by adoption, children tended to drink in patterns that closely mimicked their biological parents (not their adoptive ones). Given studies like this, most researchers say that alcoholism risk is about half determined by your genes. Some genes also make you more likely to drink heavily, which researchers consider critical in developing alcoholism. If you have these genes, you might be prone to keep drinking when others might stop. Knowing that you’re at an enhanced risk of alcoholism could help you form protective behaviors now so you never develop alcoholism in the future.
Genetic diseases, on the other hand, are illnesses that are caused by mutations in the person’s DNA. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information sober house we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers.
Getting Help for Alcoholism
A key aspect of the new study is that it included genetic data from people of European (46,568) and African (6,280) ancestry. Although the same ADH1B gene was linked to alcoholism risk both in people of European ancestry and African ancestry, the researchers found that different variants in the gene altered risk in the two populations. Other research has revealed that the same variation in the same gene as occurs in Europeans also influences risk in people of Asian descent, but that data was not included in this study. Individuals with a genetic predisposition toward alcohol abuse aren’t necessarily doomed to become alcoholics.
A growing body of scientific evidence seems to confirm alcoholism and a genetic predisposition. This means if you have more than one close relative with an alcohol use disorder, you may have inherited genes that put you at risk. In this way, genetics are partially responsible for the relatively high common act of alcohol abuse. However, a person’s genome isn’t the only thing that can influence them to binge drink or become an alcoholic. People with a family history of alcoholism have the highest risk of struggling with alcohol use. However, environmental and social factors can increase or reduce this genetic risk.
