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Young people who are genetically predisposed to risk-taking, low extraversion and schizophrenia are more likely to use alcohol, cigarettes, cannabisor other illicit drugs, according to a new University College London-led study.

The researchers say that the findings, published in Addiction Biology, are in line with the notion that people who are more vulnerable to psychopathology or certain personality traits are more inclined to try several types of drugs or use them to 'self-medicate'.

The study used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n=4218) and applied traitstateoccasion models to delineate the common and substancespecific factors based on four classes of substances (alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis and other illicit substances) assessed over time (ages 17, 20 and 22 years). The researchers generated 18 polygenic scores indexing genetically influenced mental health vulnerabilities and individual traits.

The results implicated several genetically influenced traits and vulnerabilities in the common liability to substance use, most notably risk taking (bstandardised, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.10-0.17), followed by extraversion (bstandardised, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.06)and schizophrenia risk (bstandardised, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.02-0.09).

Educational attainment (EA) and body mass index (BMI) had opposite effects on substancespecific liabilities such as cigarette use (bstandardised EA, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.19 to 0.12 and bstandardisedBMI, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.02-0.09) and alcohol use (bstandardisedEA, 0.07; 95% CI, 0.03-0.11 and bstandardisedBMI, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.02).

These findings point towards largely distinct sets of genetic influences on the common versus specific liabilities.

Co-lead author Dr Tabea Schoeler (UCL Psychology and Language Sciences) said: Treatment and prevention programmes that target risk-taking behaviours among young people, while also focusing on adolescents with early signs of schizophrenia, could be beneficial in reducing the risk of developing substance use problems.

Iob E, Schoeler T, Cecil CM, Walton E, McQuillin A, Pingault JB. Identifying risk factors involved in the common versus specific liabilities to substance use: A genetically informed approach. Addict Biol. 2020 Jul 23 [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1111/adb.12944. PMID: 32705754. View full text

This article originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.

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Genetic Links to Drug and Alcohol Use Among Young People With Mental Health Risks - Medscape

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