A 4-YEAR LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON RISK FACTORS FOR ALCOHOLISM
Resource
ARCHIVES OF GENERAL PSYCHIATRY v.61 n.2 pp.184-191
Journal
ARCHIVES OF GENERAL PSYCHIATRY
Journal Volume
v.61
Journal Issue
n.2
Pages
184-191
Date Issued
2004
Date
2004
Author(s)
CHENG, TAI-ANN
GAU, SUSAN, SHUR-FEN
Abstract
Context: Longitudinal studies are required to resolve inconsistencies in previous work regarding antecedents of alcoholism. Objective: to investigate genetic and environmental risk factors for alcoholism. Design: a 4-year longitudinal cohort study. Setting: general community. Participants: A population-based cohort was randomly selected from four aboriginal groups in Taiwan. Cohort subjects free from any alcohol use disorder at Phase I (n= 499) were reassessed approximately four years later (Phase II). The proportion of participants who completed the study was 98.4%. Main outcome measures: A standardized semi- structured clinical interview for alcoholism and other psychiatric comorbidities was employed at the two phases. The main outcome measure was incidence of alcohol use disorder. Specific risk factors examined including sociodemographic factors, family history of alcoholism, the extent of acculturation, psychiatric comorbidity, and alcohol metabolizing genes. Results: By using Cox’ sregression analyses, the risk for alcoholism was found to be significantly higher among males(odds ratio (OR): 2.78, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.79-4.32), subjects aged 15- 24 ( OR: 5.05, 95% CI: 2.06 - 6.18), the non-married (OR: 1. 60, 95% CI: 1.03 - 2.49), the higher- educated (OR: 1.76, 95 % CI : 1.12 - 2.75), the employed (OR: 2.25, 95% CI: 1.34 - 3.77) , a family history of alcoholism ( OR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1 .06 - 2.83), and subjects with a higher extent of cultural assimilation (OR: 2.07, 95% CI: 1.28 - 3. 35). Two specific risk pathways were emerged from multivariate analyses, one indicates the highest risk among subjects aged 25-34 with anxiety disorders (OR: 16.86, 95% CI: 3.98 – 71.41), the other among men inherited with the less active ADH2*1 gene ( OR: 5.87, 95% CI: 2.73 - 12.60). Conclusions: Based on incidence cases of alcoholism among aboriginal Taiwanese, this study confirms the significant roles of anxiety disorders and the less active ADH2*1 allele as antecedents of alcoholism among specific age and sex groups.
SDGs
Type
journal article