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A study that examined the influence of LR in conjunction with other characteristics Ð like family history of AUDs and age of drinking onset Ð has found that LR is a unique risk factor for AUDs across adulthood and is not simply a reflection of a broader range of risk factors.

ÊÓIf a person needs more alcohol to get a certain effect, that person tends to drink more each time they imbibe,Ó explained Marc A. Schuckit, director of the Alcohol Research Center, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, and corresponding author for the study.

ÒOther studies we have published have shown that these individuals also choose heavy drinking peers, which helps them believe that what they drink and what they expect to happen in a drinking evening are Ônormal,ÕÓ he said. ÒThis low LR, which is perhaps a low sensitivity to alcohol, is genetically influenced.Ó

Schuckit and his colleagues examined 297 men participating in the San Diego Prospective Study, originally recruited and tested on their level of reaction to alcohol when they were 18 to 25 years old. Each reported on family history of AUDs, typical drinking quantity, age of drinking onset, body mass index, and initial age at recruitment for the study. AUDs were evaluated at 10-, 15-, 20-, and 25-year follow-ups.

Results showed that a low LR to alcohol predicted AUD occurrence over the course of adulthood even after controlling for the effects of other robust risk factors. In short, LR is a unique risk factor for AUDs across adulthood, and not simply a reflection of a broader range of risk factors.

Source: Sciencedaily

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