Browsing by Author "Kramer, John R."
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Item An ADH1B variant and peer drinking in progression to adolescent drinking milestones: Evidence of a gene-by-environment interaction(Wiley Online Library, 2014-10) Olfson, Emily; Edenberg, Howard J.; Nurnberger Jr., John; Agrawal, Arpana; Bucholz, Kathleen K.; Almasy, Laura A.; Chorlian, David; Dick, Danielle M.; Hesselbrock, Victor M.; Kramer, John R.; Kuperman, Samuel; Porjesz, Bernice; Schuckit, Marc A.; Tischfield, Jay A.; Wang, Jen-Chyong; Wetherill, Leah; Foroud, Tatiana M.; Rice, John; Goate, Alison; Bierut, Laura J.; Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, IU School of MedicineBACKGROUND: Adolescent drinking is an important public health concern, one that is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. The functional variant rs1229984 in alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (ADH1B) has been associated at a genome-wide level with alcohol use disorders in diverse adult populations. However, few data are available regarding whether this variant influences early drinking behaviors and whether social context moderates this effect. This study examines the interplay between rs1229984 and peer drinking in the development of adolescent drinking milestones. METHODS: One thousand five hundred and fifty European and African American individuals who had a full drink of alcohol before age 18 were selected from a longitudinal study of youth as part of the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). Cox proportional hazards regression, with G × E product terms in the final models, was used to study 2 primary outcomes during adolescence: age of first intoxication and age of first DSM-5 alcohol use disorder symptom. RESULTS: The minor A allele of rs1229984 was associated with a protective effect for first intoxication (HR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.76) and first DSM-5 symptom (HR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.77) in the final models. Reporting that most or all best friends drink was associated with a hazardous effect for first intoxication (HR = 1.81, 95% CI 1.62 to 2.01) and first DSM-5 symptom (HR = 2.17, 95% 1.88 to 2.50) in the final models. Furthermore, there was a significant G × E interaction for first intoxication (p = 0.002) and first DSM-5 symptom (p = 0.01). Among individuals reporting none or few best friends drinking, the ADH1B variant had a protective effect for adolescent drinking milestones, but for those reporting most or all best friends drinking, this effect was greatly reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the risk factor of best friends drinking attenuates the protective effect of a well-established ADH1B variant for 2 adolescent drinking behaviors. These findings illustrate the interplay between genetic and environmental factors in the development of drinking milestones during adolescence.Item Alcohol-Related, Drug-Related, and Non-Substance-Related Aggression: Three Facets of a Single Construct or Three Distinct Constructs?(Wiley, 2020-09) Chester, David S.; Bucholz, Kathleen K.; Chan, Grace; Kamarajan, Chella; Pandey, Ashwini K.; Wetherill, Leah; Kramer, John R.; Nurnberger, John I., Jr.; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Dick, Danielle M.; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of MedicineBackground: Aggression often occurs alongside alcohol and drug misuse. However, it is not clear whether the latent and manifest relations among alcohol-related, drug-related, and non-substance-related aggression are separate manifestations of a single construct or instead are 3 distinct constructs. Methods: To examine these associations, we conducted a preregistered analysis of 13,490 participants in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. In a structured interview, participants reported their lifetime perpetration of these 3 aggression phenotypes. Results: The data were better fit by a model that treated these aggression phenotypes as 3 distinct latent factors, as compared to models in which the items all loaded onto 1 ("general") or 2 ("substance-related" and "non-substance-related") aggression factors. This 3-factor model fit better for men than women. Subsequent exploratory analyses then showed that among these 3 factors, alcohol-related aggression explained the variance of overall aggression better than the other 2 factors. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that these 3 forms of aggression are distinct phenotypes (especially among men). Yet, people's alcohol-related aggression can accurately characterize their overall aggressive tendencies across these domains. Future research will benefit from articulating the unique and shared pathways and risk factors underlying each of these facets of aggression.Item Associations between Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors and Genetic Liability for Cognitive Performance, Depression, and Risk-Taking in a High-Risk Sample(Karger, 2021) Johnson, Emma C.; Aliev, Fazil; Meyers, Jacquelyn L.; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Tillman, Rebecca; Chang, Yoonhoo; Docherty, Anna R.; Bogdan, Ryan; Acion, Laura; Chan, Grace; Chorlian, David B.; Kamarajan, Chella; Kuperman, Samuel; Pandey, Ashwini; Plawecki, Martin H.; Schuckit, Marc; Tischfield, Jay; Edenberg, Howard J.; Bucholz, Kathleen K.; Nurnberger, John I.; Porjesz, Bernice; Hesselbrock, Victor; Dick, Danielle M.; Kramer, John R.; Agrawal, Arpana; Psychiatry, School of MedicineBackground: Suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors are moderately heritable and may reflect an underlying predisposition to depression, impulsivity, and cognitive vulnerabilities to varying degrees. Objectives: We aimed to estimate the degrees of association between genetic liability to depression, impulsivity, and cognitive performance and STBs and NSSI in a high-risk sample. Methods: We used data on 7,482 individuals of European ancestry and 3,359 individuals of African ancestry from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism to examine the links between polygenic scores (PGSs) for depression, impulsivity/risk-taking, and cognitive performance with 3 self-reported indices of STBs (suicidal ideation, persistent suicidal ideation defined as ideation occurring on at least 7 consecutive days, and suicide attempt) and with NSSI. Results: The PGS for depression was significantly associated with all 4 primary self-harm measures, explaining 0.6-2.5% of the variance. The PGS for risk-taking behaviors was also associated with all 4 self-harm behaviors in baseline models, but was no longer associated after controlling for a lifetime measure of DSM-IV alcohol dependence and abuse symptom counts. Polygenic predisposition for cognitive performance was negatively associated with suicide attempts (q = 3.8e-4) but was not significantly associated with suicidal ideation nor NSSI. We did not find any significant associations in the African ancestry subset, likely due to smaller sample sizes. Conclusions: Our results encourage the study of STB as transdiagnostic outcomes that show genetic overlap with a range of risk factors.Item Clinical, environmental, and genetic risk factors for substance use disorders: characterizing combined effects across multiple cohorts(Springer, 2022-10-04) Barr, Peter B.; Driver, Morgan N.; Kuo, Sally I-Chun; Stephenson, Mallory; Aliev, Fazil; Linnér, Richard Karlsson; Marks, Jesse; Anokhin, Andrey P.; Bucholz, Kathleen; Chan, Grace; Edenberg, Howard J.; Edwards, Alexis C.; Francis, Meredith W.; Hancock, Dana B.; Harden, K. Paige; Kamarajan, Chella; Kaprio, Jaakko; Kinreich, Sivan; Kramer, John R.; Kuperman, Samuel; Latvala, Antti; Meyers, Jacquelyn L.; Palmer, Abraham A.; Plawecki, Martin H.; Porjesz, Bernice; Rose, Richard J.; Schuckit, Marc A.; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Dick , Danielle M.; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of MedicineSubstance use disorders (SUDs) incur serious social and personal costs. The risk for SUDs is complex, with risk factors ranging from social conditions to individual genetic variation. We examined whether models that include a clinical/environmental risk index (CERI) and polygenic scores (PGS) are able to identify individuals at increased risk of SUD in young adulthood across four longitudinal cohorts for a combined sample of N = 15,134. Our analyses included participants of European (NEUR = 12,659) and African (NAFR = 2475) ancestries. SUD outcomes included: (1) alcohol dependence, (2) nicotine dependence; (3) drug dependence, and (4) any substance dependence. In the models containing the PGS and CERI, the CERI was associated with all three outcomes (ORs = 01.37-1.67). PGS for problematic alcohol use, externalizing, and smoking quantity were associated with alcohol dependence, drug dependence, and nicotine dependence, respectively (OR = 1.11-1.33). PGS for problematic alcohol use and externalizing were also associated with any substance dependence (ORs = 1.09-1.18). The full model explained 6-13% of the variance in SUDs. Those in the top 10% of CERI and PGS had relative risk ratios of 3.86-8.04 for each SUD relative to the bottom 90%. Overall, the combined measures of clinical, environmental, and genetic risk demonstrated modest ability to distinguish between affected and unaffected individuals in young adulthood. PGS were significant but added little in addition to the clinical/environmental risk index. Results from our analysis demonstrate there is still considerable work to be done before tools such as these are ready for clinical applications.Item Collaborative meta-analysis finds no evidence of a strong interaction between stress and 5-HTTLPR genotype contributing to the development of depression(Nature Publishing Group, 2018-01) Culverhouse, Robert C.; Saccone, Nancy L.; Horton, Amy C.; Ma, Yinjiao; Anstey, Kaarin J.; Banaschewski, Tobias; Burmeister, Margit; Cohen-Woods, Sarah; Etain, Bruno; Fisher, Helen L.; Goldman, Noreen; Guillaume, Sébastien; Horwood, John; Juhasz, Gabriella; Lester, Kathryn J.; Mandelli, Laura; Middeldorp, Christel M.; Olié, Emilie; Villafuerte, Sandra; Air, Tracy M.; Araya, Ricardo; Bowes, Lucy; Burns, Richard; Byrne, Enda M.; Coffey, Carolyn; Coventry, William L.; Gawronski, Katerina; Glei, Dana; Hatzimanolis, Alex; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Jaussent, Isabelle; Jawahar, Catharine; Jennen-Steinmetz, Christine; Kramer, John R.; Lajnef, Mohamed; Little, Keriann; zu Schwabedissen, Henriette Meyer; Nauck, Matthias; Nederhof, Esther; Petschner, Peter; Peyrot, Wouter J.; Schwahn, Christian; Sinnamon, Grant; Stacey, David; Tian, Yan; Toben, Catherine; Auwera, Sandra Van der; Wainwright, Nick; Wang, Jen-Chyong; Willemsen, Gonneke; Anderson, Ian M.; Arolt, Volker; Åslund, Cecilia; Bagdy, Gyorgy; Baune, Bernhard T.; Bellivier, Frank; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Courtet, Philippe; Dannlowski, Udo; de Geus, Eco J.C.; Deakin, John F. W.; Easteal, Simon; Eley, Thalia; Fergusson, David M.; Goate, Alison M.; Gonda, Xenia; Grabe, Hans J.; Holzman, Claudia; Johnson, Eric O.; Kennedy, Martin; Laucht, Manfred; Martin, Nicholas G.; Munafò, Marcus; Nilsson, Kent W.; Oldehinkel, Albertine J.; Olsson, Craig; Ormel, Johan; Otte, Christian; Patton, George C.; Penninx, Brenda W.J.H.; Ritchie, Karen; Sarchiapone, Marco; Scheid, JM; Serretti, Alessandro; Smit, Johannes H.; Stefanis, Nicholas C.; Surtees, Paul G.; Völzke, Henry; Weinstein, Maxine; Whooley, Mary; Nurnberger, John I., Jr.; Breslau, Naomi; Bierut, Laura J.; Psychiatry, School of MedicineThe hypothesis that the S allele of the 5-HTTLPR serotonin transporter promoter region is associated with increased risk of depression, but only in individuals exposed to stressful situations, has generated much interest, research, and controversy since first proposed in 2003. Multiple meta-analyses combining results from heterogeneous analyses have not settled the issue. To determine the magnitude of the interaction and the conditions under which it might be observed, we performed new analyses on 31 datasets containing 38 802 European-ancestry subjects genotyped for 5-HTTLPR and assessed for depression and childhood maltreatment or other stressful life events, and meta-analyzed the results. Analyses targeted two stressors (narrow, broad) and two depression outcomes (current, lifetime). All groups that published on this topic prior to the initiation of our study and met the assessment and sample size criteria were invited to participate. Additional groups, identified by consortium members or self-identified in response to our protocol (published prior to the start of analysis1) with qualifying unpublished data were also invited to participate. A uniform data analysis script implementing the protocol was executed by each of the consortium members. Our findings do not support the interaction hypothesis. We found no subgroups or variable definitions for which an interaction between stress and 5-HTTLPR genotype was statistically significant. In contrast, our findings for the main effects of life stressors (strong risk factor) and 5-HTTLPR genotype (no impact on risk) are strikingly consistent across our contributing studies, the original study reporting the interaction, and subsequent meta-analyses. Our conclusion is that if an interaction exists in which the S allele of 5-HTTLPR increases risk of depression only in stressed individuals, then it is not broadly generalizable, but must be of modest effect size and only observable in limited situations.Item COVID-19 pandemic stressors are associated with reported increases in frequency of drunkenness among individuals with a history of alcohol use disorder(Springer Nature, 2023-10-06) Meyers, Jacquelyn L.; McCutcheon, Vivia V.; Horne-Osipenko, Kristina A.; Waters, Lawrence R.; Barr, Peter; Chan, Grace; Chorlian, David B.; Johnson, Emma C.; Kuo, Sally I-Chun; Kramer, John R.; Dick, Danielle M.; Kuperman, Samuel; Kamarajan, Chella; Pandey, Gayathri; Singman, Dzov; Subbie-Saenz de Viteri, Stacey; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Bierut, Laura J.; Foroud, Tatiana; Goate, Alison; Hesselbrock, Victor; Nurnberger, John; Plaweck, Martin H.; Schuckit, Marc A.; Agrawal, Arpana; Edenberg, Howard J.; Bucholz, Kathleen K.; Porjesz, Bernice; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of MedicineSome sources report increases in alcohol use have been observed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among women. Cross-sectional studies suggest that specific COVID-19-related stressful experiences (e.g., social disconnection) may be driving such increases in the general population. Few studies have explored these topics among individuals with a history of Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD), an especially vulnerable population. Drawing on recent data collected by the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA; COVID-19 study N = 1651, 62% women, age range: 30-91) in conjunction with AUD history data collected on the sample since 1990, we investigated associations of COVID-19 related stressors and coping activities with changes in drunkenness frequency since the start of the pandemic. Analyses were conducted for those without a history of AUD (N: 645) and three groups of participants with a history of AUD prior to the start of the pandemic: (1) those experiencing AUD symptoms (N: 606), (2) those in remission who were drinking (N: 231), and (3) those in remission who were abstinent (had not consumed alcohol for 5+ years; N: 169). Gender-stratified models were also examined. Exploratory analyses examined the moderating effects of 'problematic alcohol use' polygenic risk scores (PRS) and neural connectivity (i.e., posterior interhemispheric alpha EEG coherence) on associations between COVID-19 stressors and coping activities with changes in the frequency of drunkenness. Increases in drunkenness frequency since the start of the pandemic were higher among those with a lifetime AUD diagnosis experiencing symptoms prior to the start of the pandemic (14% reported increased drunkenness) when compared to those without a history of AUD (5% reported increased drunkenness). Among individuals in remission from AUD prior to the start of the pandemic, rates of increased drunkenness were 10% for those who were drinking pre-pandemic and 4% for those who had previously been abstinent. Across all groups, women reported nominally greater increases in drunkenness frequency when compared with men, although only women experiencing pre-pandemic AUD symptoms reported significantly greater rates of increased drunkenness since the start of the pandemic compared to men in this group (17% of women vs. 5% of men). Among those without a prior history of AUD, associations between COVID-19 risk and protective factors with increases in drunkenness frequency were not observed. Among all groups with a history of AUD (including those with AUD symptoms and those remitted from AUD), perceived stress was associated with increases in drunkenness. Among the remitted-abstinent group, essential worker status was associated with increases in drunkenness. Gender differences in these associations were observed: among women in the remitted-abstinent group, essential worker status, perceived stress, media consumption, and decreased social interactions were associated with increases in drunkenness. Among men in the remitted-drinking group, perceived stress was associated with increases in drunkenness, and increased relationship quality was associated with decreases in drunkenness. Exploratory analyses indicated that associations between family illness or death with increases in drunkenness and increased relationship quality with decreases in drunkenness were more pronounced among the remitted-drinking participants with higher PRS. Associations between family illness or death, media consumption, and economic hardships with increases in drunkenness and healthy coping with decreases in drunkenness were more pronounced among the remitted-abstinent group with lower interhemispheric alpha EEG connectivity. Our results demonstrated that only individuals with pre-pandemic AUD symptoms reported greater increases in drunkenness frequency since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to those without a lifetime history of AUD. This increase was more pronounced among women than men in this group. However, COVID-19-related stressors and coping activities were associated with changes in the frequency of drunkenness among all groups of participants with a prior history of AUD, including those experiencing AUD symptoms, as well as abstinent and non-abstinent participants in remission. Perceived stress, essential worker status, media consumption, social connections (especially for women), and relationship quality (especially for men) are specific areas of focus for designing intervention and prevention strategies aimed at reducing pandemic-related alcohol misuse among this particularly vulnerable group. Interestingly, these associations were not observed for individuals without a prior history of AUD, supporting prior literature that demonstrates that widespread stressors (e.g., pandemics, terrorist attacks) disproportionately impact the mental health and alcohol use of those with a prior history of problems.Item CYP2A6 metabolism in the development of smoking behaviors in young adults(Wiley, 2018-01) Olfson, Emily; Bloom, Joseph; Bertelsen, Sarah; Budde, John P.; Breslau, Naomi; Brooks, Andrew; Culverhouse, Robert; Chan, Grace; Chen, Li-Shiun; Chorlian, David; Dick, Danielle M.; Edenberg, Howard J.; Hartz, Sarah; Hatsukami, Dorothy; Hesselbrock, Victor M.; Johnson, Eric O.; Kramer, John R.; Kuperman, Samuel; Meyers, Jacquelyn L.; Nurnberger, John; Porjesz, Bernice; Saccone, Nancy L.; Schuckit, Marc A.; Stitzel, Jerry; Tischfield, Jay A.; Rice, John P.; Goate, Alison; Bierut, Laura J.; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of MedicineCytochrome P450 2A6 (CYP2A6) encodes the enzyme responsible for the majority of nicotine metabolism. Previous studies support that slow metabolizers smoke fewer cigarettes once nicotine dependent but provide conflicting results on the role of CYP2A6 in the development of dependence. By focusing on the critical period of young adulthood, this study examines the relationship of CYP2A6 variation and smoking milestones. A total of 1209 European American young adults enrolled in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism were genotyped for CYP2A6 variants to calculate a previously well-validated metric that estimates nicotine metabolism. This metric was not associated with the transition from never smoking to smoking initiation nor with the transition from initiation to daily smoking (P > 0.4). But among young adults who had become daily smokers (n = 506), decreased metabolism was associated with increased risk of nicotine dependence (P = 0.03) (defined as Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence score ≥4). This finding was replicated in the Collaborative Genetic Study of Nicotine Dependence with 335 young adult daily smokers (P = 0.02). Secondary meta-analysis indicated that slow metabolizers had a 53 percent increased odds (OR = 1.53, 95 percent CI 1.11-2.11, P = 0.009) of developing nicotine dependence compared with normal metabolizers. Furthermore, secondary analyses examining four-level response of time to first cigarette after waking (>60, 31-60, 6-30, ≤5 minutes) demonstrated a robust effect of the metabolism metric in Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (P = 0.03) and Collaborative Genetic Study of Nicotine Dependence (P = 0.004), illustrating the important role of this measure of dependence. These findings highlight the complex role of CYP2A6 variation across different developmental stages of smoking behaviors.Item Familial association of abstinent remission from alcohol use disorder in first-degree relatives of alcohol-dependent treatment-seeking probands(Wiley, 2017) McCutcheon, Vivia V.; Schuckit, Marc A.; Kramer, John R.; Chan, Grace; Edenberg, Howard J.; Smith, Tom L.; Bender, Annah K.; Hesselbrock, Victor; Hesselbrock, Michie; Bucholz, Kathleen K.; Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, IU School of MedicineBackground and Aims Studies that have included family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) as a predictor of remission from AUD have yielded few significant results. The goals of this study were to estimate the association of persistent AUD, non-abstinent remission and abstinent remission (‘AUD/remission status’) in a proband with AUD/remission status in a relative and to test whether this association differed in related and unrelated proband-relative pairs. Design High-risk family study of alcohol dependence. Probands were recruited from treatment settings and relatives were invited to participate. Baseline assessments occurred between 1991 and 1998 with follow-up between 1996 and 2005. Half of probands were matched with a biological 1st-degree relative with life-time AUD (related group) and half of probands were paired with an unrelated individual with life-time AUD (unrelated group). Setting Brooklyn, New York; Indianapolis, Indiana; Iowa City, Iowa; San Diego, California; Farmington, Connecticut; and St Louis, Missouri, USA. Participants A total of 606 probands (25.7% female, mean age 37.7) with baseline and follow-up data and 606 of their 1st-degree relatives who had life-ime AUDs (45.8% female, mean age 36.2 years). Measurements Persistent AUD, non-abstinent remission and abstinent remission were based on self-report interview data on most recent AUD symptoms and alcohol consumption. Dependent variable was relatives’ AUD/remission status. Independent variable was probands’ AUD/remission status. Findings A total of 34.6% of probands and 20.6% of relatives were abstinent and 11.1% of probands and 22.8% of relatives were in non-abstinent remission. AUD/remission status was correlated significantly in related (r = 0.23, P = 0.0037) but not in unrelated pairs. A significant interaction of probands’ abstinent remission with a variable representing related (versus unrelated, P = 0.003) pairs suggested a familial association for abstinent remission. In related pairs, individuals with an abstinent proband were more likely to be abstinent themselves than were individuals whose proband had persistent AUD [relative risk ratio = 3.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.56–6.85, P = 0.002]; this association was not significant in unrelated pairs. Conclusions The likelihood of abstinent remission among people with alcohol use disorder appears to be more than three times greater for individuals who are related to an abstinent proband versus those related to a proband with persistent alcohol use disorder.Item Item-Level Genome-Wide Association Study of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test in Three Population-Based Cohorts(American Psychiatric Association, 2022) Mallard, Travis T.; Savage, Jeanne E.; Johnson, Emma C.; Huang, Yuye; Edwards, Alexis C.; Hottenga, Jouke J.; Grotzinger, Andrew D.; Gustavson, Daniel E.; Jennings, Mariela V.; Anokhin, Andrey; Dick, Danielle M.; Edenberg, Howard J.; Kramer, John R.; Lai, Dongbing; Meyers, Jacquelyn L.; Pandey, Ashwini K.; Harden, Kathryn Paige; Nivard, Michel G.; de Geus, Eco J. C.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Agrawal, Arpana; Davis, Lea K.; Clarke, Toni-Kim; Palmer, Abraham A.; Sanchez-Roige, Sandra; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of MedicineObjective: Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), a 10-item screen for alcohol use disorder (AUD), have elucidated novel loci for alcohol consumption and misuse. However, these studies also revealed that GWASs can be influenced by numerous biases (e.g., measurement error, selection bias), which may have led to inconsistent genetic correlations between alcohol involvement and AUD, as well as paradoxically negative genetic correlations between alcohol involvement and psychiatric disorders and/or medical conditions. The authors used genomic structural equation modeling to elucidate the genetics of alcohol consumption and problematic consequences of alcohol use as measured by AUDIT. Methods: To explore these unexpected differences in genetic correlations, the authors conducted the first item-level and the largest GWAS of AUDIT items (N=160,824) and applied a multivariate framework to mitigate previous biases. Results: The authors identified novel patterns of similarity (and dissimilarity) among the AUDIT items and found evidence of a correlated two-factor structure at the genetic level ("consumption" and "problems," rg=0.80). Moreover, by applying empirically derived weights to each of the AUDIT items, the authors constructed an aggregate measure of alcohol consumption that was strongly associated with alcohol dependence (rg=0.67), moderately associated with several other psychiatric disorders, and no longer positively associated with health and positive socioeconomic outcomes. Lastly, by conducting polygenic analyses in three independent cohorts that differed in their ascertainment and prevalence of AUD, the authors identified novel genetic associations between alcohol consumption, alcohol misuse, and health. Conclusions: This work further emphasizes the value of AUDIT for both clinical and genetic studies of AUD and the importance of using multivariate methods to study genetic associations that are more closely related to AUD.Item Mapping Pathways by which Genetic Risk Influences Adolescent Externalizing Behavior: The Interplay between Externalizing Polygenic Risk Scores, Parental Knowledge, and Peer Substance Use(Springer, 2021) Kuo, Sally I-Chun; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Barr, Peter B.; Aliev, Fazil; Anokhin, Andrey; Bucholz, Kathleen K.; Chan, Grace; Edenberg, Howard J.; Hesselbrock, Victor; Kamarajan, Chella; Kramer, John R.; Lai, Dongbing; Mallard, Travis T.; Nurnberger, John I., Jr.; Pandey, Gayathri; Plawecki, Martin H.; Sanchez-Roige, Sandra; Waldman, Irwin; Palmer, Abraham A.; Externalizing Consortium; Dick, Danielle M.; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of MedicineGenetic predispositions and environmental influences both play an important role in adolescent externalizing behavior; however, they are not always independent. To elucidate gene-environment interplay, we examined the interrelationships between externalizing polygenic risk scores, parental knowledge, and peer substance use in impacting adolescent externalizing behavior across two time-points in a high-risk longitudinal sample of 1,200 adolescents (764 European and 436 African ancestry; Mage = 12.99) from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. Results from multivariate path analysis indicated that externalizing polygenic scores were directly associated with adolescent externalizing behavior but also indirectly via peer substance use, in the European ancestry sample. No significant polygenic association nor indirect effects of genetic risk were observed in the African ancestry group, likely due to more limited power. Our findings underscore the importance of gene-environment interplay and suggest peer substance use may be a mechanism through which genetic risk influences adolescent externalizing behavior.