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How does addiction run in a family? Are people with specific genes more prone to addiction than others?

by chrisper 8y ago

adrianN 8y ago
Yes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction#Genetic_factors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction#Genetic_factors
dn97 8y ago
Genetic factors and certain socio-economic demographics are also more susceptible to addiction.
JustSomeNobody 8y ago
Genetics, but also environmental. Children of addicts, IIRC, are close to an order of magnitude more likely to become addicts themselves (as compared to children of non-addicts)[0]. [0] Sorry, I can't cite that source ATM, just something I recall from foster parent training.
aaronharnly 8y ago
Yes. See, for example, this overview of studies of identical vs fraternal twins and other lines of evidence shows that an average of about 50% (up to ~70% for cocaine) of the variability in addictive behavior can be explained by genetic variation. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3506170/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3506170/
dmos62 8y ago
My train of thought is: addiction is one of possible symptoms of a certain method of dealing with stress; this method is learned behaviour; you learn from your close surroundings, i.e. family.
smpetrey 8y ago
Short answer: no. Hereditary has nothing to do with it. Long answer: if you’re white, under the age of 65, and live in suburban America — then yes, you are more prone to addiction because of your geographic make-up and likely have access to healthcare options that predominantly over prescribe opioids. Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/podcasts/the-daily/opioid-crisis-purdue-oxycontin.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/podcasts/the-daily/opioid... https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/8/3/16079772/opioid-epidemic-drug-overdoses https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/8/3/16079772/opi...
- eganist 8y ago
  My family isn't exposed to any of that considering I'm the first among my kin born here in the United States. As an aside, there's an interesting level of confidence in your initial response ("Hereditary [sic] has nothing to do with it.") considering that you're wrong. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=addiction+genetics+dopamine https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=addiction+genetics+dopa... — this may be a good starting point.

How does addiction run in a family? Are people with specific genes more prone to addiction than others?

adrianN 8y ago

Yes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction#Genetic_factors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction#Genetic_factors

dn97 8y ago

Genetic factors and certain socio-economic demographics are also more susceptible to addiction.

JustSomeNobody 8y ago

Genetics, but also environmental. Children of addicts, IIRC, are close to an order of magnitude more likely to become addicts themselves (as compared to children of non-addicts)[0]. [0] Sorry, I can't cite that source ATM, just something I recall from foster parent training.

aaronharnly 8y ago

Yes. See, for example, this overview of studies of identical vs fraternal twins and other lines of evidence shows that an average of about 50% (up to ~70% for cocaine) of the variability in addictive behavior can be explained by genetic variation. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3506170/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3506170/

dmos62 8y ago

My train of thought is: addiction is one of possible symptoms of a certain method of dealing with stress; this method is learned behaviour; you learn from your close surroundings, i.e. family.

smpetrey 8y ago

Short answer: no. Hereditary has nothing to do with it. Long answer: if you’re white, under the age of 65, and live in suburban America — then yes, you are more prone to addiction because of your geographic make-up and likely have access to healthcare options that predominantly over prescribe opioids. Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/podcasts/the-daily/opioid-crisis-purdue-oxycontin.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/podcasts/the-daily/opioid... https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/8/3/16079772/opioid-epidemic-drug-overdoses https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/8/3/16079772/opi...

eganist 8y ago
My family isn't exposed to any of that considering I'm the first among my kin born here in the United States. As an aside, there's an interesting level of confidence in your initial response ("Hereditary [sic] has nothing to do with it.") considering that you're wrong. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=addiction+genetics+dopamine https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=addiction+genetics+dopa... — this may be a good starting point.