Childhood trauma is associated with developmental trajectories of EEG coherence, alcohol-related outcomes, and PTSD symptoms.

Background: Associations between childhood trauma, neurodevelopment, alcohol use disorder (AUD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are understudied during adolescence.

Methods: Using 1652 participants (51.75% female, baseline = 14.

A Developmentally-Informative Genome-wide Association Study of Alcohol Use Frequency.

Contemporary genome-wide association study (GWAS) methods typically do not account for variability in genetic effects throughout development. We applied genomic structural equation modeling to combine developmentally-informative phenotype data and GWAS to create polygenic scores (PGS) for alcohol use frequency that are specific to developmental stage. Longitudinal cohort studies targeted for gene-identification analyses include the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (adolescence n = 1,118, early adulthood n = 2,762, adulthood n = 5,255), the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (adolescence n = 3,089, early adulthood n = 3,993, adulthood n = 5,149), and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; adolescence n = 5,382, early adulthood n = 3,613).

Associations between alcohol use disorder polygenic score and remission in participants from high-risk families and the Indiana Biobank.

Background: In the United States, ~50% of individuals who meet criteria for alcohol use disorder (AUD) during their lifetimes do not remit. We previously reported that a polygenic score for AUD (PGS ) was positively associated with AUD severity as measured by DSM-5 lifetime criterion count, and AUD severity was negatively associated with remission. Thus, we hypothesized that PGS would be negatively associated with remission.

Diagnostic Criteria for Identifying Individuals at High Risk of Progression From Mild or Moderate to Severe Alcohol Use Disorder.

Importance: Current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) (DSM-5) diagnoses of substance use disorders rely on criterion count-based approaches, disregarding severity grading indexed by individual criteria.

Objective: To examine correlates of alcohol use disorder (AUD) across count-based severity groups (ie, mild, moderate, mild-to-moderate, severe), identify specific diagnostic criteria indicative of greater severity, and evaluate whether specific criteria within mild-to-moderate AUD differentiate across relevant correlates and manifest in greater hazards of severe AUD development.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study involved 2 cohorts from the family-based Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) with 7 sites across the United States: cross-sectional (assessed 1991-2005) and longitudinal (assessed 2004-2019).

COVID-19 pandemic stressors are associated with reported increases in frequency of drunkenness among individuals with a history of alcohol use disorder.

Some sources report increases in alcohol use have been observed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among women. Cross-sectional studies suggest that specific COVID-19-related stressful experiences (e.g.

Alcohol use polygenic risk score, social support, and alcohol use among European American and African American adults.

Alcohol use is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. We examined the interactive effects between genome-wide polygenic risk scores for alcohol use (alc-PRS) and social support in relation to alcohol use among European American (EA) and African American (AA) adults across sex and developmental stages (emerging adulthood, young adulthood, and middle adulthood). Data were drawn from 4,011 EA and 1,274 AA adults from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism who were between ages 18-65 and had ever used alcohol.

The collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism: Sample and clinical data.

The collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism (COGA) is a multi-site, multidisciplinary project with the goal of identifying how genes are involved in alcohol use disorder and related outcomes, and characterizing how genetic risk unfolds across development and in conjunction with the environment and brain function. COGA is a multi-generational family-based study in which probands were recruited through alcohol treatment centers, along with a set of community comparison families. Nearly 18,000 individuals from >2200 families have been assessed over a period of over 30 years with a rich phenotypic battery that includes semi-structured psychiatric interviews and questionnaire measures, along with DNA collection and electrophysiological data on a large subset.

Associations of polygenic risk scores for smoking heaviness and lifetime cannabis use with tobacco and cannabis co-use trajectories among African Americans.

Background: We aimed to identify distinct trajectories of tobacco, cannabis, and their co-use among African Americans, and to investigate whether these patterns were associated with polygenic risk scores (PRS) for tobacco and cannabis use.

Method: Participants (N=428 participants; 50.9% male) were initially recruited for an elementary school-based prevention in a Mid-Atlantic city when they were in first grade.

Integrating Theory with Education about Genetic Risk for Alcohol Use Disorder: The Effects of a Brief Online Educational Tool on Elements of the Health Belief Model.

Introduction: The utility of genetic risk information relies on the assumption that individuals will use the information to change behavior to reduce risk of developing health problems. Educational interventions designed to target elements of the Health Belief Model have shown to be effective in promoting behaviors for positive outcomes.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in 325 college students to assess whether a brief, online educational intervention altered elements of the Health Belief Model that are known to be associated with motivations and intentions to change behavior.

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.

The role of adolescent social relationships in promoting alcohol resistance: Interrupting the intergenerational transmission of alcohol misuse.

Genetic factors contribute to the intergenerational transmission of alcohol misuse, but not all individuals at high genetic risk develop problems. The present study examined adolescent relationships with parents, peers, and romantic partners as predictors of realized resistance, defined as high biological risk for disorder combined with a healthy outcome, to alcohol initiation, heavy episodic drinking, and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Data were from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism ( = 1,858; 49.

The impact of receiving polygenic risk scores for alcohol use disorder on psychological distress, risk perception, and intentions to reduce drinking.

For the return of polygenic risk scores to become an acceptable clinical practice in psychiatry, receipt of polygenic risk scores must be associated with minimal harm and changes in behavior that decrease one's risk for developing a psychiatric outcome. Data from a randomized controlled trial was used to assess the impact of different levels of hypothetical polygenic risk scores for alcohol use disorder on psychological distress, risk perception, and intentions to change drinking behaviors. The analytic sample consisted of 325 participants recruited from an urban, public university.

Association of parental divorce, discord, and polygenic risk with children's alcohol initiation and lifetime risk for alcohol use disorder.

Background: Parental divorce and discord are associated with poorer alcohol-related outcomes for offspring. However, not all children exposed to these stressors develop alcohol problems. Our objective was to test gene-by-environment interaction effects whereby children's genetic risk for alcohol problems modifies the effects of parental divorce and discord to predict alcohol outcomes.

Associations of parent-adolescent closeness with P3 amplitude, frontal theta, and binge drinking among offspring with high risk for alcohol use disorder.

Background: Parents impact their offspring's brain development, neurocognitive function, risk, and resilience for alcohol use disorder (AUD) via both genetic and socio-environmental factors. Individuals with AUD and their unaffected children manifest low parietal P3 amplitude and low frontal theta (FT) power, reflecting heritable neurocognitive deficits associated with AUD. Likewise, children who experience poor parenting tend to have atypical brain development and greater rates of alcohol problems.

Evaluating the impact of a new educational tool on understanding of polygenic risk scores for alcohol use disorder.

Introduction: As gene identification efforts have advanced in psychiatry, so have aspirations to use genome-wide polygenic information for prevention and intervention. Although polygenic risk scores (PRS) for substance use and psychiatric outcomes are not yet available in clinical settings, individuals can access their PRS through online direct-to-consumer resources. One of these widely used websites reports that alcohol use disorder is the third most requested PRS out of >1,000 conditions.

COVID and college: how the pandemic impacted alcohol use disorder status among students.

Alcohol consumption patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic have varied notably. We examined the acute impact of the pandemic on alcohol use disorder (AUD) in a generalizable sample of college students who were surveyed pre-pandemic and re-surveyed in May 2020. Items assessed pre-pandemic included DSM-5 AUD and mental health symptoms.

Genetic nurture effects for alcohol use disorder.

We tested whether aspects of the childhood/adolescent home environment mediate genetic risk for alcohol problems within families across generations. Parental relationship discord and parental divorce were the focal environments examined. The sample included participants of European ancestry (N = 4806, 51% female) and African ancestry (N = 1960, 52% female) from the high-risk Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism.

The role of parental genotype in the intergenerational transmission of externalizing behavior: Evidence for genetic nurturance.

The purpose of this study was to examine possible pathways by which genetic risk associated with externalizing is transmitted in families. We used molecular data to disentangle the genetic and environmental pathways contributing to adolescent externalizing behavior in a sample of 1,111 adolescents (50% female; 719 European and 392 African ancestry) and their parents from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. We found evidence for genetic nurture such that parental externalizing polygenic scores were associated with adolescent externalizing behavior, over and above the effect of adolescents' own externalizing polygenic scores.

Clinical, environmental, and genetic risk factors for substance use disorders: characterizing combined effects across multiple cohorts.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) incur serious social and personal costs. The risk for SUDs is complex, with risk factors ranging from social conditions to individual genetic variation. We examined whether models that include a clinical/environmental risk index (CERI) and polygenic scores (PGS) are able to identify individuals at increased risk of SUD in young adulthood across four longitudinal cohorts for a combined sample of N = 15,134.

Returning complex genetic risk information to promote better health-related behaviors: a commentary of the literature and suggested next steps.

Genome-wide association studies aim to identify genetic variants that are associated with a disease phenotype in order to enhance precision medicine efforts. Despite the excitement surrounding the promise of precision medicine and interest among the public in accessing personalized genetic information, there has been little effort dedicated to understanding how complex genetic risk information could be incorporated into clinical practice to inform prevention, screening, and treatment. In this article, we briefly summarize the literature on the impact of receiving genetic risk information on health-related behavior, discuss the limitations of these studies, and outline the challenges that will need to be overcome, along with suggested next steps for future studies, to understand the true promise of precision medicine.

Principal Component Analysis Reduces Collider Bias in Polygenic Score Effect Size Estimation.

In this study, we test principal component analysis (PCA) of measured confounders as a method to reduce collider bias in polygenic association models. We present results from simulations and application of the method in the Collaborative Study of the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) sample with a polygenic score for alcohol problems, DSM-5 alcohol use disorder as the target phenotype, and two collider variables: tobacco use and educational attainment. Simulation results suggest that assumptions regarding the correlation structure and availability of measured confounders are complementary, such that meeting one assumption relaxes the other.

Examining social genetic effects on educational attainment via parental educational attainment, income, and parenting.

Higher parental educational attainment is associated with higher offspring educational attainment. In this study, we incorporated genotypic and phenotypic information from fathers, mothers, and offspring to disentangle the genetic and socioenvironmental pathways underlying this association. Data were drawn from a sample of individuals of European ancestry from the collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism ( = 4,089; 51% female).

Alcohol use disorder, psychiatric comorbidities, marriage and divorce in a high-risk sample.

Objective: To examine associations between alcohol use disorder (AUD), its psychiatric comorbidities, and their interactions, with marital outcomes in a diverse high-risk, genetically informative sample.

Method: Participants included European ancestry (EA; = 4,045) and African ancestry (AA; = 1,550) individuals from the multigenerational Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) sample (56% female, ∼ 41 years). Outcomes were lifetime marriage and divorce.