Sweet liking and high novelty seeking: independent phenotypes associated with alcohol-related problems

We tested the hypothesis that high novelty seeking (NS; a trait that promotes experimentation) and hedonic response to sweet taste (a trait that may reflect processing of hedonic stimuli) act independently to increase the risk for having alcohol-related problems in young adults.

The study was conducted in 158 healthy subjects (age 20-25 years) with no lifetime history of alcohol and/or drug abuse/dependence. NS was evaluated using the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. Pleasurable response to sweet taste was tested, using a sweet taste test to identify sweet likers (SL; those preferring the strongest offered sucrose solution) and sweet dislikers (SDL; those preferring weaker sucrose solutions).

NS score, but not SL/SDL status, was positively correlated with drinks per month (P = 0.0054) and drinks per drinking day (P = 0.021). When tested individually, both NS and SL/SDL status predict having alcohol-related problems (NS: odds ratio [OR] = 5.3, P = 0.0016 and SL/SDL: OR = 5.8, P = 0.0001) with an OR similar to positive family history of alcoholism status (OR = 5.7, P = 0.0007). The combination of SL status and high NS score (greater than gender-specific 70th percentile) greatly increased the estimated odds of having alcohol-related problems (OR 27.5, P < 0.0001).

These results support the hypothesis that high NS and SL phenotypes are independently associated with risk of alcohol-related problems. The combination of both phenotypes greatly increases the likelihood of alcohol-related problems. Although confirmation is necessary, this suggests that these phenotypes could contribute to improved methods to assess risk for alcohol-related problems and provide additional insight into processes underlying progression to alcohol-related problems.