Abstract
Background Genetic influences on alcohol involvement are likely to vary as a function of the 'alcohol environment,' given that exposure to alcohol is a necessary precondition for genetic risk to be expressed. However, few gene-environment interaction studies of alcohol involvement have focused on characteristics of the community-level alcohol environment. The goal of this study was to examine whether living in a community with more alcohol outlets would facilitate the expression of the genetic propensity to drink in a genetically-informed national survey of United States young adults.Methods The participants were 2434 18-26-year-old twin, full-, and half-sibling pairs from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Participants completed in-home interviews in which alcohol use was assessed. Alcohol outlet densities were extracted from state-level liquor license databases aggregated at the census tract level to derive the density of outlets.Results There was evidence that the estimates of genetic and environmental influences on alcohol use varied as a function of the density of alcohol outlets in the community. For example, the heritability of the frequency of alcohol use for those residing in a neighborhood with ten or more outlets was 74% (95% confidence limits = 55-94%), compared with 16% (95% confidence limits = 0-34%) for those in a neighborhood with zero outlets. This moderating effect of alcohol outlet density was not explained by the state of residence, population density, or neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics.Conclusions The results suggest that living in a neighborhood with many alcohol outlets may be especially high-risk for those individuals who are genetically predisposed to frequently drink.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 474-482 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Psychological medicine |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 1 2019 |
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Keywords
- Alcohol outlet density
- alcohol use
- gene-environment interaction
- neighborhood
- twins
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Applied Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
Cite this
Neighborhood alcohol outlet density and genetic influences on alcohol use : Evidence for gene-environment interaction. / Slutske, Wendy S.; Deutsch, Arielle R.; Piasecki, Thomas M.
In: Psychological medicine, Vol. 49, No. 3, 01.02.2019, p. 474-482.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Neighborhood alcohol outlet density and genetic influences on alcohol use
T2 - Evidence for gene-environment interaction
AU - Slutske, Wendy S.
AU - Deutsch, Arielle R.
AU - Piasecki, Thomas M.
PY - 2019/2/1
Y1 - 2019/2/1
N2 - Background Genetic influences on alcohol involvement are likely to vary as a function of the 'alcohol environment,' given that exposure to alcohol is a necessary precondition for genetic risk to be expressed. However, few gene-environment interaction studies of alcohol involvement have focused on characteristics of the community-level alcohol environment. The goal of this study was to examine whether living in a community with more alcohol outlets would facilitate the expression of the genetic propensity to drink in a genetically-informed national survey of United States young adults.Methods The participants were 2434 18-26-year-old twin, full-, and half-sibling pairs from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Participants completed in-home interviews in which alcohol use was assessed. Alcohol outlet densities were extracted from state-level liquor license databases aggregated at the census tract level to derive the density of outlets.Results There was evidence that the estimates of genetic and environmental influences on alcohol use varied as a function of the density of alcohol outlets in the community. For example, the heritability of the frequency of alcohol use for those residing in a neighborhood with ten or more outlets was 74% (95% confidence limits = 55-94%), compared with 16% (95% confidence limits = 0-34%) for those in a neighborhood with zero outlets. This moderating effect of alcohol outlet density was not explained by the state of residence, population density, or neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics.Conclusions The results suggest that living in a neighborhood with many alcohol outlets may be especially high-risk for those individuals who are genetically predisposed to frequently drink.
AB - Background Genetic influences on alcohol involvement are likely to vary as a function of the 'alcohol environment,' given that exposure to alcohol is a necessary precondition for genetic risk to be expressed. However, few gene-environment interaction studies of alcohol involvement have focused on characteristics of the community-level alcohol environment. The goal of this study was to examine whether living in a community with more alcohol outlets would facilitate the expression of the genetic propensity to drink in a genetically-informed national survey of United States young adults.Methods The participants were 2434 18-26-year-old twin, full-, and half-sibling pairs from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Participants completed in-home interviews in which alcohol use was assessed. Alcohol outlet densities were extracted from state-level liquor license databases aggregated at the census tract level to derive the density of outlets.Results There was evidence that the estimates of genetic and environmental influences on alcohol use varied as a function of the density of alcohol outlets in the community. For example, the heritability of the frequency of alcohol use for those residing in a neighborhood with ten or more outlets was 74% (95% confidence limits = 55-94%), compared with 16% (95% confidence limits = 0-34%) for those in a neighborhood with zero outlets. This moderating effect of alcohol outlet density was not explained by the state of residence, population density, or neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics.Conclusions The results suggest that living in a neighborhood with many alcohol outlets may be especially high-risk for those individuals who are genetically predisposed to frequently drink.
KW - Alcohol outlet density
KW - alcohol use
KW - gene-environment interaction
KW - neighborhood
KW - twins
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85046480206&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85046480206&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0033291718001095
DO - 10.1017/S0033291718001095
M3 - Article
C2 - 29730997
AN - SCOPUS:85046480206
VL - 49
SP - 474
EP - 482
JO - Psychological Medicine
JF - Psychological Medicine
SN - 0033-2917
IS - 3
ER -