Texas Family Health Patterns: A Study Across Generations
Condition: Alcohol and Other Drug Use Disorders
MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      The researchers are studying factors that may increase the risk for alcohol and drug use in
      individuals who do not have any problems with these substances. This study will be looking at
      health behaviors in young adults compared to their family's health behaviors and lifestyle.

      The investigators plan to study genetic differences in people with and without a family
      history of alcoholism. The researchers hope to learn how a family history of alcoholism,
      early life adversity and different genotypes shape personal characteristics associated with a
      risk for alcoholism.
    

Detailed description: 
      The Oklahoma Family Health Patterns project is an intensive study of psychological,
      behavioral, and stress reactivity characteristics in healthy young adults with a family
      history of alcoholism (FH+) with a goal of identifying characteristics that place these
      persons at elevated risk for the disorder. The investigators have recently identified early
      life adverse experience (ELA), including physical and sexual abuse and separation from
      parents, as occurring with disproportionate impact in FH+, and the investigators have shown
      that ELA accounts for diminished stress reactivity, behavioral impulsivity, and poor mood
      regulation, all of which are risk factors for alcohol and other substance use disorders. The
      impact of ELA in the FH+ population demands to be studied further in a Gene x Environment
      interaction given the known positive feedbacks between FH+ and ELA. The investigators' goal
      is to carry out a G x E interaction study by genotyping the investigators' FH x ELA and
      examining the impact of genotype on the broad range of personal characteristics currently
      under study in this project. Aim 1. Examine the differential impact of ELA on psychological
      and behavioral characteristics of FH+ vs. FH- groups using an expanded sample of volunteers.
      Aim 2. Use the investigators' larger sample to carry out a Gene x Environment analysis to
      test specific alleles that are strongly suspected of influencing activity in brain
      motivational systems, expanding on work the investigators initiated with NIAAA thanks to a
      supplement to this R01 (AA012207-S1). Aim 3. Test specific aspects of temperament as
      endophenotypes linking FH and ELA to behavioral, cognitive, and stress reactivity as aspects
      of the person's phenotype. Aim 4. Increase the investigators' recruitment base by screening
      and testing volunteers at a second site, the University of Texas HSC, San Antonio, where the
      investigators currently conduct our neuroimaging studies. Alcoholism is a costly burden to
      society, but risk factors for alcoholism are poorly understood. The vast majorities of
      studies focuses on alcoholic patients but are unable to disentangle preexisting influences
      from the effects of alcohol intake history. The investigators' high-risk study design can be
      of value by contrasting FH+ and FH- with regard to environmental contributors and genetic
      vulnerabilities that contribute to behavioral risk factors.
    

Observational model: Cohort
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Healthy young adults with at least one parent with an alcohol or other drug use disorder
        history (FH+) or no alcohol or other drug use disorders in any parents or grandparents
        (FH-).