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COMT and ALDH2 polymorphisms moderate associations of implicit drinking motives with alcohol use.

ABSTRACT: Dual process models of addiction emphasize the importance of implicit (automatic) cognitive processes in the development and maintenance of substance use behavior. Although genetic influences are presumed to be relevant for dual process models, few studies have evaluated this possibility. The current study examined two polymorphisms with functional significance for alcohol use behavior (COMT Val158Met and ALDH2*2) in relation to automatic alcohol cognitions and tested additive and interactive effects of genotype and implicit cognitions on drinking behavior. Participants were college students (n = 69) who completed Implicit Association Tasks (IATs) designed to assess two classes of automatic drinking motives (enhancement motives and coping motives). Genetic factors did not show direct associations with IAT measures; however, COMT and ALDH2 moderated associations of implicit coping motives with drinking outcomes. Interaction effects indicated that associations of implicit motives with drinking outcomes were strongest in the context of genetic variants associated with relatively higher risk for alcohol use (COMT Met and ALDH2*1). Associations of genotype with drinking behavior were observed for ALDH2 but not COMT. These findings are consistent with the possibility that genetic risk or protective factors could potentiate or mitigate the influence of reflexive cognitive processes on drinking behavior, providing support for the evaluation of genetic influences in the context of dual process models of addiction.

SUBMITTER: Hendershot CS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3117964 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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COMT and ALDH2 polymorphisms moderate associations of implicit drinking motives with alcohol use.

Hendershot Christian S CS Lindgren Kristen P KP Liang Tiebing T Hutchison Kent E KE

Addiction biology 20110210 1

Dual process models of addiction emphasize the importance of implicit (automatic) cognitive processes in the development and maintenance of substance use behavior. Although genetic influences are presumed to be relevant for dual process models, few studies have evaluated this possibility. The current study examined two polymorphisms with functional significance for alcohol use behavior (COMT Val158Met and ALDH2*2) in relation to automatic alcohol cognitions and tested additive and interactive ef ...[more]

PMID: 21309949

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Project description:Aims:Implicit measures of alcohol associations (i.e. measures designed to assess associations that are fast/reflexive/impulsive) have received substantial research attention. Alcohol associations related to the self (drinking identity), the effects of alcohol (alcohol excite) and appetitive inclinations (alcohol approach) have been found to predict drinking cross-sectionally and over time. A critical next step in this line of research and the goal of this study is to evaluate whether increases in the strength of these associations predict increases in drinking and vice versa. These hypotheses were tested in a sample of first- and second-year US university students: a sample selected because this time period is associated with initiation and escalation of drinking, peak levels of alcohol consumption and severe alcohol-related negative consequences. Short summary:This study's purpose was to evaluate whether increases in the strength of alcohol associations with the self (drinking identity), excitement (alcohol excite) and approach (alcohol approach) as assessed by implicit measures predicted subsequent increases in drinking risk and vice versa using a longitudinal, university student sample. Results were consistent with hypotheses. Methods:A sample of 506 students' (57% women) alcohol associations and alcohol consumption were assessed every 3 months over a 2-year period. Participants' consumption was converted to risk categories based on NIAAA's criteria: non-drinkers, low-risk drinkers and high-risk drinkers. A series of cross-lagged panel models tested whether changes in alcohol associations predicted subsequent change in drinking risk (and vice versa). Results:Across all three measures of alcohol associations, increases in the strength of alcohol associations were associated with subsequent increases in drinking risk and vice versa. Conclusion:Results from this study indicate bi-directional relationships between increases in alcohol associations (drinking identity, alcohol excite and alcohol approach) and subsequent increases in drinking risk. Intervention and prevention efforts may benefit from targeting these associations.

Project description:BackgroundFemales who misuse alcohol experience high rates of negative physical and mental health consequences. Existing findings are inconsistent but suggest a relationship between ovarian hormones and alcohol use. We aim to clarify how alcohol use and drinking motives vary across the menstrual cycle in female psychiatric outpatients using the luteinizing hormone (LH)-confirmed cycle phase.MethodsDaily self-reports (n = 3721) were collected from 94 naturally cycling females, recruited for past-month suicidal ideation, during the baseline phase of three parent clinical trials between February 2017 and May 2022. Multilevel logistic and linear models estimated the relationship between the cycle phase (with LH-surge confirmed ovulation) and daily alcohol use or drinking motives, moderated by the weekend. Models were adjusted for age, legal drinking status, substance use disorder, and the COVID-19 pandemic, and included random effects.ResultsParticipants were generally more likely to drink in the midluteal (vs. perimenstrual) phase, but more likely to drink heavily on weekends in periovulatory and perimenstrual (vs. midluteal) phases. Social motives for drinking were significantly higher on weekends in the periovulatory, mid-follicular, and midluteal phases (vs. weekdays), but this finding was non-significant in the perimenstrual phase. Participants rated drinking to cope higher in the perimenstrual phase (vs. midluteal phase), regardless of the weekend.ConclusionIn a psychiatric sample with LH-surge-confirmed ovulation, we find an increased likelihood to drink heavily in periovulatory and perimenstrual phases on weekends. We also find that the perimenstrual phase is associated with increased drinking to cope, and relatively lower weekend social drinking. Finally, random effects across models suggest individual differences in the extent to which the cycle influences drinking. Our findings stress (1) predictable phases of increased high-risk alcohol use across the menstrual cycle, and (2) the importance of individual assessment of cyclical changes in alcohol use to predict and prevent ovulation- and menses-related surges in heavy drinking.

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COMT and ALDH2 polymorphisms moderate associations of implicit drinking motives with alcohol use.

Publications

COMT and ALDH2 polymorphisms moderate associations of implicit drinking motives with alcohol use.

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