|
Affiliation
|
Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA. |
|
Abstract
|
BACKGROUND: The study was undertaken to assess the relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences on drunk-driving.
METHODS: Driving records of a cohort of male and female twins (N = 17,360) from the Mid-Atlantic Twin Registry were examined. Structural equation models were used to estimate the magnitude of genetic and environmental effects on male and female phenotypes, and test for gender differences.
RESULTS: There were significant gender and age effects. Compared with females, males were five times more likely to engage in driving under the influence. Among persons aged 21-49 years, the risk for drunk-driving was eight times that for those aged 50+ years and five times greater than those ≤20 years. In both males and females, aged 21-49 years, a large proportion (57%) of the variance in drunk-driving was due to genetic factors and the remaining 43% due to individual specific environmental influences.
CONCLUSIONS: Drunk-driving is under significant genetic influence in both males and females. Our findings suggest that a different set of genes influence DUIs in men and women.
Language: en |