A Prospective Comparison of Bipolar I and II Subjects with and without Comorbid Cannabis Use Disorders from the COGA Dataset.

Objective: The comorbidity of alcohol and substance use disorders among persons with bipolar disorder is elevated, as indicated by epidemiological and clinical studies. Following alcohol use, cannabis is the most frequently used and abused illicit substance among bipolar individuals, and such use may lead to comorbid cannabis use disorders (CUD). Previous research indicated that CUDs were related to a more severe course of bipolar disorder and higher rates of other comorbid alcohol and substance use disorders.

Do personality characteristics predict future alcohol problems after considering current demography, substance use, and alcohol response?

Background: Several personality traits predict future alcohol problems but also relate to demographic and substance-related variables that themselves correlate with later adverse alcohol outcomes. Few prospective studies have evaluated whether personality measures predict alcohol problems after considering current demographic and substance-related variables.

Methods: Data from 414 drinkers without alcohol use disorder (AUD) from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (average age 20, 44% male) were followed over an average of 9 years.

Changes over time in endorsement of 11 DSM-IV alcohol use disorder (AUD) criteria in young adults with persistent or recurrent AUD in The Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism.

Background: Endorsement of specific Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) alcohol use disorder (AUD) criteria have been shown to change significantly over time in men in their thirties who have persistent or recurrent AUD. However, few studies have documented whether the endorsement of AUD items changes over time in younger individuals or in women. We evaluated changes in the endorsement of AUD criteria in 377 men and women with persistent or recurrent AUD during their twenties.

A latent class analysis of alcohol and posttraumatic stress symptoms among offspring of parents with and without alcohol use disorder.

The co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) is widely known, yet few studies have examined whether and how AUD symptoms co-occur with PTSD symptom clusters of hypervigilance, avoidance/numbing, and re-experiencing. The purpose of this study was to examine potential overlap between AUD and posttraumatic stress symptomatology, and to characterize the resultant latent classes in terms of demographics, drinking behaviors, parental AUD, and specific traumas experienced (physical violence, sexual violence, and non-assaultive trauma). We hypothesized that classes would be differentiated by type and severity of AUD and PTS symptoms.

Subtypes of Alcohol Dependence and 36-Year Mortality.

Background: Chronic, heavy alcohol use is associated with multiple health problems, including premature death. Further, the clinical presentation of alcohol dependence may differentially affect and predict the long-term health consequences of affected individuals. Subtypes of alcohol dependence based upon treatment intake information can help identify homogenous groups of patients for treatment purposes, but have not been used to predict long-term outcomes.

Trauma Exposure and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Youth in a High-Risk Family Study: Associations with Maternal and Paternal Alcohol Use Disorder.

This study presents findings regarding the prevalence of trauma exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) based on discrete types of trauma (physical, sexual, witnessed violence, and non-assaultive trauma) among 3404 youth in a family study of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Data from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) were used to examine associations of parent AUD with offspring's childhood trauma exposure, and with lifetime diagnosis of DSM-IV PTSD among White and Black participants aged 12-35. Of 3404 youth, 59.

A Pilot Follow-Up Study of Older Alcohol-Dependent COGA Adults.

Background: Alcohol consumption and problems are increasing among older adults, who are at elevated risk for alcohol-related accidents and medical problems. This paper describes a pilot follow-up of older adults with a history of alcohol dependence that was designed to determine the feasibility of conducting a more extensive investigation.

Methods: The sample consisted of previously assessed subjects in the Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcoholism who: (i) were age 50+; (ii) had lifetime DSM-IV AD; and (iii) had DNA available.

A 22-Year Follow-Up (Range 16 to 23) of Original Subjects with Baseline Alcohol Use Disorders from the Collaborative Study on Genetics of Alcoholism.

Background: Recent reports indicate higher-than-expected problematic drinking in older populations. However, few data describe how to predict which older individuals are most likely to demonstrate alcohol-related problems, including those with earlier alcohol use disorders (AUDs). These analyses evaluate predictors of alcohol outcomes in individuals with earlier AUDs in the Collaborative Study on Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA).

Reliability and validity of an internalizing symptom scale based on the adolescent and adult Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA).

Background: The Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA) is an interview that assesses psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses, including substance use disorders and anxiety and mood (i.e., internalizing) disorders.

A GABRA2 polymorphism improves a model for prediction of drinking initiation.

Background: Survival analysis was used to explore the addition of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and covariates (sex, interview age, and ancestry) on a previously published model's ability to predict onset of drinking. A SNP variant of rs279871, in the chromosome 4 gene encoding gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor (GABRA2), was selected due to its associations with alcoholism in young adults and with behaviors that increased risk for early drinking.

Methods: A subsample of 674 adolescents (ages 14-17) participating in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) was examined using a previously derived Cox proportional hazards model containing: 1) number of non-drinking related conduct disorder (CD) symptoms, 2) membership in a high-risk alcohol-dependent (AD) family, 3) most best friends drank (MBFD), 4) Achenbach Youth Self Report (YSR) externalizing score, and 5) YSR social problems score.

Conclusion: Special issue on genetic and alcohol use disorder research with diverse racial/ethnic groups: Key findings and potential next steps.

Background And Objectives: This special issue brings together papers focusing on a wide range of topics relevant to the research and understanding of the role of race/ethnicity and genetic variation for the susceptibility of developing an alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Methods: The key findings from the issue's 10 articles are reviewed and organized here around three topics: I: addictive behaviors and potential environmental influences; II: a focus on four racial/ethnic groups; and III: special methodologies.

Results: Several potential next steps in improving effective research strategies are highlighted: (1) implementing best practices for outreach and community engagement may reduce reluctance to participate; (2) recruiting adequately sized and racially/ethnically diverse samples will require new collaborations with investigators who successfully work in diverse communities; (3) identifying and assessing environmental influences that are both unique to, and common among, racial/ethnic groups may inform preventions for AUD; (4) use of standardized measures will facilitate the generation of larger samples and meta-analysis of research findings; and (5) use of better analytic approaches and experimental methods will improve replication in gene finding research and help advance new areas of research.

Introduction: Special issue on genetic research of alcohol use disorder in diverse racial/ethnic populations.

This special issue of The American Journal on Addictions is an extension of a workshop held at the Research Society on Alcoholism (2015) highlighting several important issues related to studies of the genetic bases of alcohol use disorder among racially/ethnically diverse populations. While not exhaustive in their coverage, the papers in this special issue focus on three important topics: (1) the importance of considering the social and environmental context in genetic analyses; (2) social and cultural considerations for engaging diverse communities in genetic research; and (3) methodologies related to phenotype development for use with racially/ethnically diverse populations. A brief overview of each paper included in these three sections is presented.

Familial association of abstinent remission from alcohol use disorder in first-degree relatives of alcohol-dependent treatment-seeking probands.

Background And Aims: Studies that have included family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) as a predictor of remission from AUD have yielded few significant results. The goals of this study were to estimate the association of persistent AUD, non-abstinent remission and abstinent remission ('AUD/remission status') in a proband with AUD/remission status in a relative and to test whether this association differed in related and unrelated proband-relative pairs.

Design: High-risk family study of alcohol dependence.

A Prospective Comparison of How the Level of Response to Alcohol and Impulsivity Relate to Future DSM-IV Alcohol Problems in the COGA Youth Panel.

Background: Alcohol problems reflect both environmental and genetic characteristics that often operate through endophenotypes like low levels of response (low LRs) to alcohol and higher impulsivity. Relationships of these preexisting characteristics to alcohol problems have been studied, but few analyses have included both low LR and impulsivity in the same model.

Methods: We extracted prospective data from 1,028 participants in the Prospective Youth Sample of the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA).

Comparison of Parent, Peer, Psychiatric, and Cannabis Use Influences Across Stages of Offspring Alcohol Involvement: Evidence from the COGA Prospective Study.

Background: All stages of development of alcohol use disorder (AUD) have not been equally studied. While initiation of drinking has been given considerable attention, other stages have not been as thoroughly investigated. It is not clear whether the same factors are associated consistently across early and late transitions in AUD involvement.

Predictors of Patterns of Alcohol-Related Blackouts Over Time in Youth From the Collaborative Study of the Genetics of Alcoholism: The Roles of Genetics and Cannabis.

Objective: Alcohol-related blackouts (ARBs) are anterograde amnesias related to heavy alcohol intake seen in about 50% of drinkers. Although a major determinant of ARBs relates to blood alcohol concentrations, additional contributions come from genetic vulnerabilities and possible impacts of cannabis use disorders (CUDs). We evaluated relationships of genetics and cannabis use to latent class trajectories of ARBs in 829 subjects from the Collaborative Study of the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA).

Polygenic risk for externalizing disorders: Gene-by-development and gene-by-environment effects in adolescents and young adults.

In this project, we aimed to bring large-scale gene identification findings into a developmental psychopathology framework. Using a family-based sample, we tested whether polygenic scores for externalizing disorders-based on single nucleotide polymorphism weights derived from genome-wide association study results in adults (n = 1,249)-predicted externalizing disorders, subclinical externalizing behavior, and impulsivity-related traits adolescents (n = 248) and young adults (n = 207), and whether parenting and peer factors in adolescence moderated polygenic risk to predict externalizing disorders. Polygenic scores predicted externalizing disorders in adolescents and young adults, even after controlling for parental externalizing disorder history.

Association of substance dependence phenotypes in the COGA sample.

Alcohol and drug use disorders are individually heritable (50%). Twin studies indicate that alcohol and substance use disorders share common genetic influences, and therefore may represent a more heritable form of addiction and thus be more powerful for genetic studies. This study utilized data from 2322 subjects from 118 European-American families in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism sample to conduct genome-wide association analysis of a binary and a continuous index of general substance dependence liability.

Predictors of subgroups based on maximum drinks per occasion over six years for 833 adolescents and young adults in COGA.

Objective: A person's pattern of heavier drinking often changes over time, especially during the early drinking years, and reflects complex relationships among a wide range of characteristics. Optimal understanding of the predictors of drinking during times of change might come from studies of trajectories of alcohol intake rather than cross-sectional evaluations.

Method: The patterns of maximum drinks per occasion were evaluated every 2 years between the average ages of 18 and 24 years for 833 subjects from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism.

Consensus paper of the WFSBP task force on biological markers: biological markers for alcoholism.

Objectives: This article presents an overview of the current literature on biological markers for alcoholism, including markers associated with the pharmacological effects of alcohol and markers related to the clinical course and treatment of alcohol-related problems. Many of these studies are well known, while other studies cited are new and still being evaluated.

Methods: In this paper we first describe known biomarkers of alcohol-related disorders, review their features and the problems involved in their use.

Genetics of alcohol dependence and social work research: do they mix?

Since completion of the mapping of the human genome in early 2000, tremendous progress has been made in the identification of many different genes associated with our health and across diseases. Although social work researchers are not expected to conduct genetic research at the molecular level, it is imperative that we are able to understand the basic genetic findings related to behavioral problems and are able to translate and integrate this information into psychosocial treatment approaches and program development. This article is an introduction and overview of genetic approaches, using studies of the genetics of alcoholism to exemplify important issues.

Measurement invariance of DSM-IV alcohol, marijuana and cocaine dependence between community-sampled and clinically overselected studies.

Aims: To examine whether DSM-IV symptoms of substance dependence are psychometrically equivalent between existing community-sampled and clinically overselected studies.

Participants: A total of 2476 adult twins born in Minnesota and 4121 unrelated adult participants from a case-control study of alcohol dependence.

Measurements: Life-time DSM-IV alcohol, marijuana and cocaine dependence symptoms and ever use of each substance.

Ethnicity and gender comparisons of health consequences in adults with alcohol dependence.

The moderating effects of ethnicity and gender on factors associated with physical health consequences in adults manifesting alcohol dependence were examined using data from the 2001-2002 US National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Black and white respondents with a lifetime diagnosis of DSM-IV alcohol dependence were selected for the study (n = 3,852). A multiple-group structural equation model tested ethnicity, gender, and intervening variables as predictors of physical health status in alcohol-dependent men and women.

Sex differences in how a low sensitivity to alcohol relates to later heavy drinking.

Introduction And Aims: A low level of response (LR), or low sensitivity, to alcohol is a genetically influenced characteristic that predicts future heavy drinking and alcohol problems. While previous analyses of how LR relates to heavier drinking reported the process is similar in males and females, some potential sex differences have been identified. This difference is further explored in these analyses.

Alcohol problems in young adults transitioning from adolescence to adulthood: The association with race and gender.

Race and gender may be important considerations for recognizing alcohol related problems in Black and White young adults. This study examined the prevalence and age of onset of individual alcohol problems and alcohol problem severity across race and gender subgroups from a longitudinal study of a community sample of adolescents followed into young adulthood (N=166; 23-29 yrs. old who were drinkers).