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Autism and Alcoholism’s Genetic Overlap

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Drug Abuse and Addiction in Medical Illness

Abstract

Autism and alcoholism are common behavioral disorders with no phenotypic similarities to suggest underlying biological or etiologic connections. However, a number of studies have reported family overlaps which suggest these two behavioral disorders may have underlying associations. Our analysis of 167 families ascertained through an autistic child found that 39% of families had a significant family history of alcoholism; the remainder reported scattered individuals with alcoholism in unrelated branches of the family. High alcoholism families differed from low alcoholism families in multiple measures including an 18-fold increase in alcoholism in females and more than twice the percentage of relatives with affective disorders. Children with autism from high and low alcoholism families differed in the clinical course of their disorder and head size. Children from high alcoholism families were 1.5 times more apt to present with a regressive onset and 2.8 times less likely to have macrocephaly, a common feature of autism. In contrast, families ascertained through a proband with alcoholism have not been noted to have an increased incidence of autism. This disparity can be understood by comparing the very different prevalence rates. We postulate that subsets of these two clearly heterogeneous behavioral disorders have a genetic overlap, such that families identified with genetic loading for both disorders may have a common cause(s). This subset of families is expected to be more homogeneous and therefore a valuable resource for investigation of candidate genes and pathways common to autism and alcoholism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Missouri, 205 Portland Street, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Judith H. Miles M.D., Ph.D.

  2. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 213 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Denis M. McCarthy Ph.D.

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  1. Judith H. Miles M.D., Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Judith H. Miles M.D., Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Psychopharmacology, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, Utrecht, 3584CG, Netherlands

    Joris C. Verster

  2. Dept. Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina, President St. 67, Charleston, 29425, South Carolina, USA

    Kathleen Brady

  3. School of Medicine, Div. Alcoholism & Drug Abuse, New York University, First Ave. 550, New York, 10016, New York, USA

    Marc Galanter

  4. Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, National Addiction Centre, Windsor Walk 4, London, SE5 8AF, United Kingdom

    Patricia Conrod

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Miles, J.H., McCarthy, D.M. (2012). Autism and Alcoholism’s Genetic Overlap. In: Verster, J., Brady, K., Galanter, M., Conrod, P. (eds) Drug Abuse and Addiction in Medical Illness. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3375-0_23

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