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: Overview.

Alcohol use disorders (AUD) are commonly occurring, heritable and polygenic disorders with etiological origins in the brain and the environment. To outline the causes and consequences of alcohol-related milestones, including AUD, and their related psychiatric comorbidities, the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) was launched in 1989 with a gene-brain-behavior framework. COGA is a family based, diverse (~25% self-identified African American, ~52% female) sample, including data on 17,878 individuals, ages 7-97 years, in 2246 families of which a proportion are densely affected for AUD.

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.

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.

Genomic risk for post-traumatic stress disorder in families densely affected with alcohol use disorders.

Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic markers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in civilian and military populations. However, studies have yet to examine the genetics of PTSD while factoring in risk for alcohol dependence, which commonly co-occur. We examined genome-wide associations for DSM-IV PTSD among 4,978 trauma-exposed participants (31% with alcohol dependence, 50% female, 30% African ancestry) from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA).

Predicting Alcohol-Related Memory Problems in Older Adults: A Machine Learning Study with Multi-Domain Features.

Memory problems are common among older adults with a history of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Employing a machine learning framework, the current study investigates the use of multi-domain features to classify individuals with and without alcohol-induced memory problems. A group of 94 individuals (ages 50-81 years) with alcohol-induced memory problems (the memory group) were compared with a matched control group who did not have memory problems.

Examining associations between genetic and neural risk for externalizing behaviors in adolescence and early adulthood.

Background: Researchers have identified genetic and neural risk factors for externalizing behaviors. However, it has not yet been determined if genetic liability is conferred in part through associations with more proximal neurophysiological risk markers.

Methods: Participants from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism, a large, family-based study of alcohol use disorders were genotyped and polygenic scores for externalizing (EXT PGS) were calculated.

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.

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.

High Polygenic Risk Scores Are Associated With Early Age of Onset of Alcohol Use Disorder in Adolescents and Young Adults at Risk.

Background: Genome-wide association studies have been conducted in alcohol use disorder (AUD), and they permit the use of polygenic risk scores (PRSs), in combination with clinical variables, to predict the onset of AUD in vulnerable populations.

Methods: A total of 2794 adolescent/young adult subjects from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism were followed, with clinical assessments every 2 years. Subjects were genotyped using a genome-wide chip.

Signal in the noise: Altered brain activation among adolescent alcohol users detected via the analysis of intra-individual variability.

Rationale: Unlike its average level, the variability in brain activation over time or trials can capture subtle and brief disruptions likely to occur among participants with low-to-moderate levels of substance use or misuse.

Objective: The present study used this intra-individual variability measurement approach to detect neural processing differences associated with light-to-moderate use of alcohol among 14-19-year-old adolescents.

Method: A total of 128 participants reporting any level of alcohol use during the previous 6 months and 87 participants reporting no use during this period completed intake questionnaires and interviews as well as an assessment of P300 electroencephalographic responses to novel stimuli recorded during two separate tasks.

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.

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.