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Serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism and differences in alcohol consumption behaviour in a college student
Aryeh I Herman1, John W Philbeck, Nicholas L Vasilopoulos
1Unit of Clinical and Biochemical Pharmacology, Laboratory of Clinical Studies, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH 10/3C103, 10 Center Drive, MSC 1256, Bethesda, MD 20892-1256, USA.
Aims And Methods:
In the present study, differences in alcohol consumption behaviour associated with the presence of the short variant (S) of the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) was investigated in a Caucasian subset (n = 204) of 268 college students.
Results:
Students who were homozygous for the S allele were more likely to engage in binge-drinking behaviour, drank more alcohol per occasion, and reported drinking to get drunk more often.
Conclusions:
In this Caucasian sample, the 5-HTTLPR strongly influences alcohol consumption in late pubescence.