Alcoholism & Genetics
Alcoholism and Genetics: Is Your Parent Responsible for Your Drinking? Has heavy drinking affected your family? If it has, you are not alone. Almost half of all adults in the United States (43%) have been directly affected by alcoholism or have a parent, sibling, child or spouse affected by alcoholism. Over 76 million people in this country are directly or indirectly affected by alcoholism, according to the National Center Alcoholism, a pervasive public health problem whose cost is estimated at more than $150 million annually, has a strong tendency to run in families. Although it is common throughout the general public, brothers or sisters of an alcoholic are at three to eight times greater risk of alcoholism than a person who has no family history of the condition. The identical twin of an alcoholic has about sixty percent chance of also becoming an alcoholic. However not everyone from a high-risk family develops alcoholism. "Even in high-density alcoholic families, not all children come out to be alcoholics," said Henri Begleiter, "thirty to forty percent of these kids will end up developing the disease"(qtd. in Okie 3). It is important
If there is a genetic component in the risk for alcoholism, identical twins, who have identical genes, would be expected to display similar histories of developing alcoholism or not developing alcoholism. If both parents were alcoholics and the child was raised in an environment with no drinking, and the child becomes an alcoholic, that should prove that hereditary factor has a major effect in genetic alcoholics. Still being studied is a marker referred to as the dopamine D2 receptor, which Dr. Another study researchers conducted dealt with animals. Many times in which they think drinking is okay and will solve their problems. In summary, hereditary factors such as genes account for at least half of the reason people become alcoholics. Usually identical twins are more likely to have the same environment compared to fraternal twins. Researchers have found that environment does play an important role in the situation if the person does develop alcoholism or not. Alcohol-specific environmental mechanisms is when the offspring learn to drink by watching and learning from their parents drinking throughout their life. " Star Tribune 28 June 2000: 01A+.
Common topics in this essay:
Henri Begleiter,
Genetics Alcoholism,
Alcoholism Inherited,
Statistics Alcoholism,
School Pharmacy,
Institutes Health,
Human Genetics,
Responsible Drinking,
Abuse Alcoholism,
Piscataway Jersey,
oct 2000,
fruit flies,
factors play,
environmental mechanisms,
23 oct 2000,
genetic factors,
alcoholism inherited,
play role,
affected alcoholism,
23 oct,
developing alcoholism,
alcohol-specific environmental mechanisms,
internet 23 oct,
environmental mechanisms offspring,
human internet 23,
|
Acceptance Essays
