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Review
. 2017 Aug;26(5):446-460.
doi: 10.1111/ajad.12478. Epub 2017 Jan 24.

Review: Environmental influences on alcohol use: Informing research on the joint effects of genes and the environment in diverse U.S. populations

Karen G Chartier  1   2 , Katherine J Karriker-Jaffe  3 , Cory R Cummings  1 , Kenneth S Kendler  2   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Review: Environmental influences on alcohol use: Informing research on the joint effects of genes and the environment in diverse U.S. populations

Karen G Chartier et al. Am J Addict. 2017 Aug.

Abstract

Background and objectives: This review aimed to inform the current state of alcohol research on the joint effects of genes and the environment conducted in U.S. racial/ethnic minority populations, focusing on African Americans, Latinos/Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians.

Methods: A key-word and author-based search was conducted and supplemented with direct contact to researchers in this area to ensure a comprehensive inclusion of published, peer-reviewed studies. These studies were considered in terms of the racial/ethnic population groups, phenotypes, genetic variants, and environmental influences covered. Research findings from alcohol epidemiologic studies were highlighted to introduce some potential environmental variables for future studies of gene and environment (G-E) relationships.

Results: Twenty-six (N = 26) studies were reviewed. They predominantly involved African American and Asian samples and had a very limited focus on Latinos/Hispanics and American Indians. There was a wide range of alcohol-related phenotypes examined, and studies almost exclusively used a candidate gene approach. Environmental influences focused on the most proximate social network relationships with family and peers. There was far less examination of community- and societal-level environmental influences on drinking. Epidemiologic studies informing the selection of potential environmental factors at these higher order levels suggest inclusion of indicators of drinking norms, alcohol availability, socioeconomic disadvantage, and unfair treatment.

Conclusions: The review of current literature identified a critical gap in the study of environments: There is the need to study exposures at community and societal levels.

Scientific significance: These initial studies provide an important foundation for evolving the dialogue and generating other investigations of G-E relationships in diverse racial/ethnic groups. (Am J Addict 2017;26:446-460).

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Theoretical mechanisms for genetic and environmental influences on AUD
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hypothetical fan-shaped GxE relationship for full distribution of environmental risk (top), compared to truncated distributions for low-risk (bottom left) and high-risk environments (bottom right)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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