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Heritability of Alcohol Use Disorder: Evidence from Twin Studies and Genome-Wide Association Studies

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Textbook of Addiction Treatment

Abstract

The genetics of addictions including alcohol dependence have been the focus of extensive research, albeit with variable and often conflicting results. Heritability estimations suggest that about 50% of the variance of addictive behavior is due to (epi)genetic effects, while associations between addictive behavior (such as amount of drinking and relapse) and specific genetic combinations are generally in a modest range. This chapter introduces the methods used to estimate heritability and specific genetic influences, such as twin and adoption studies, polygenic risk scores, and genome-wide association studies. Environmental influences on gene expression and possible pathways of epigenetic modifications will be addressed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Charite - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Eva Friedel, Jakob Kaminski & Stephan Ripke

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  1. Eva Friedel
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Correspondence to Eva Friedel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Addiction Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Nady el-Guebaly

  2. Mental Health Department, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Monza e Brianza, Italy

    Giuseppe Carrà

  3. Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Department of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Marc Galanter

  4. Population and Behavioural Science Division (Psychiatry and Addictions), University of St Andrews, St.Andrews, UK

    Alexander M. Baldacchino

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Friedel, E., Kaminski, J., Ripke, S. (2021). Heritability of Alcohol Use Disorder: Evidence from Twin Studies and Genome-Wide Association Studies. In: el-Guebaly, N., Carrà, G., Galanter, M., Baldacchino, A.M. (eds) Textbook of Addiction Treatment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36391-8_3

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