Citation

Rhew IC, Fleming CB, Tsang S, Horn E, Kosterman R, Duncan GE. Subst. Use Misuse 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Health Education and Research Building, Washington State University, Washington State Twin Registry, Spokane, Washington, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10826084.2020.1756332

PMID

32326868

Abstract

Background: There has been increased interest in the interplay of genetic and environmental factors in the development of problematic alcohol use, including socioeconomic conditions of the neighborhood. Using a co-twin design, we examined the extent to which contributions of genetic, shared environmental, and unique environmental influences on hazardous drinking differed according to levels of neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation. Method: Data came from 1,521 monozygotic (MZ) and 609 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs surveyed in Washington State. A measure of neighborhood deprivation was created based on census-tract-level variables and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test 3-item instrument was used to assess level of hazardous drinking. We tested a series of nested structural equation models to examine associations among hazardous drinking, neighborhood deprivation, and the variance components (genetic [A], shared [C] and unique environmental [E] influences) of these two constructs, testing for both main effects and moderation by neighborhood deprivation. Results: Neighborhood deprivation was significantly associated with increased hazardous drinking, after accounting for A and C variance common to both phenotypes. Adjusting for within-pair differences in income and education, neighborhood deprivation moderated the magnitude of variance components of hazardous drinking, with the variance attributable to shared environment and non-shared environment increasing in more deprived neighborhoods. Conclusions: Findings point to amplification of early childhood as well as unique adulthood environmental risk on hazardous drinking in areas of greater deprivation.

Language: en

Keywords

Alcohol; gene-environment interplay; heritability; neighborhood; twin design