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Low Level Of Response Is A Multi Generational Clue

A low level of response (LR) to alcohol is one of several genetically influenced indicators of an elevated risk for heavy-drinking and alcoholism. In other words, if you have a family history of alcoholism and have a “hollow leg” chances are you will develop problems with alcohol in the future. This study compared responses to alcohol among similarly aged subjects across generations.

Between 1978 and 1988, 453 18-to-25-year-old nonalcoholic Caucasian male drinkers participated in the San Diego Prospective Study. They were given several “alcohol challenges,” and their LR to alcohol was determined through self reports on feelings of “high” and “intoxication,” as well as measures of changes in body sway. About 20 years later, 40 of the 18-to-29-year-old offspring of 25 of the original subjects were tested using similar methods.

Despite the passage of two decades between laboratory sessions, those (father) subjects with a positive family history for alcoholism still demonstrated low level response (LR) after alcohol consumption similar to that reported 20 years earlier. Their sons and daughters subjected to the same alcohol challenges produced similar subjective feelings of intoxication and body sway results. These similarities, while not proving heritability, are consistent with previous research that has established an association between genetic influences and LR to alcohol.

(Schuckit, MA, Smith, TL, Kalmijn, J, Danko GP: A cross-generational comparison of alcohol challenges at about age 20 in 40 father-offspring pairs. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research 29: 1921-1927, 2005.)

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