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Alcoholism susceptibility loci: confirmation studies in a replicate sample and further mapping
T Foroud1, H J Edenberg, A Goate
1Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis 46202, USA. tforoud@iupui.edu
Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research
|August 3, 2000
Summary
Genetic linkage studies in alcoholic families reveal new insights into alcoholism risk. Findings support genetic susceptibility loci on chromosomes 1, 7, 2, and 3, advancing our understanding of alcohol dependence genetics.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Psychiatry
- Human Genetics
Background:
- Alcoholism has a significant genetic component.
- Previous research identified potential genetic linkage sites for alcoholism on chromosomes 1, 2, and 7 in 105 families.
Purpose of the Study:
- To further investigate genetic linkage in alcoholism.
- To replicate and extend previous findings on genetic susceptibility loci for alcoholism.
- To analyze genetic data using two distinct definitions of alcoholism.
Main Methods:
- Genotyping was performed on an initial sample of 105 families and a replication sample of 157 alcoholic families.
- Linkage analyses were conducted using two hierarchical definitions of alcoholism: broad (Feighner and DSM-III-R criteria) and severe (ICD-10 criteria).
Main Results:
- Supported linkage to chromosome 1 (LOD = 2.6) in combined analyses.
- Increased evidence for linkage to chromosome 7 (LOD = 2.9) in combined analyses.
- Identified a novel linkage to chromosome 3 (LOD = 3.4) in the replication data set and observed varied results for chromosome 2 linkage.
Conclusions:
- The study provides further evidence for genetic susceptibility loci on chromosomes 1 and 7 for alcoholism.
- Novel susceptibility loci on chromosomes 2 and 3 were identified, potentially specific to certain family datasets or definitions of alcoholism.