Heavy Episodic Drinking

Substance abuse (Alcohol) and its Disorders: The Behavioural Genetics of Alcoholism

Alcohol is a widely used and consumed beverage all across the world. As the consumption of this beverage becomes more than what is healthy for the body, it leads to substance abuse problems. Heavy episodic drinking is a major problem for many people who are addicted and abuse alcohol. Alcoholism or heavy episodic drinking is a common and a costly behavioural disorder. But what causes this disorder? Are the reasons environmental, genetic or social? Here, I shall discuss the behavioural genetics of alcoholism in terms of both genetic and environmental factors. Then the discussion will focus on the problems related to heavy episodic drinking and treatment of the same.

There have been many studies that have attempted to identify the major factors that contribute to a person developing heavy episodic drinking at any point on life. From many such studies it is known for a fact that a person who grew up in an environment that was more accepting or encouraging in terms of consumption of alcohol, those with mental illnesses and people with a family history of heavy episodic drinking are under the risk of developing heavy episodic drinking in the future. It si clear that genetic factors though important cannot  completely account for the individuals developing heavy episodic drinking

Twin studies including monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins (which compared the concordance rates for developing heavy episodic drinking) have revealed that concordance rates for heavy episodic drinking  are significantly greater in monozygotic twins than in dizygotic twins. The contribution to shared environment can be established by studying environments of adoptive families in which there is an environmental similarity rather than a genetic one. Through experiments it was observed significant resemblance in alcohol involvement of adoptive siblings who were not genetically related (McGue, 1999). Through these findings a conclusion that can be drawn is that the genotype and environment interact to determine whether a child is under the risk of developing heavy episodic drinking disorder. 

Heavy episodic drinking leads to many problems, like, heart diseases, multiple kinds of cancers, liver failure, strokes, memory problems and the like. There is one other problem hat is cause by heavy episodic drinking- misdiagnoses of other psychiatric disorders. Psychiatric disorders like Major Depression, Anxiety Disorders, Antisocial Personality Disorder and Bipolar Disorders are commonly associated with alcohol. The comorbidity in the case of these disorders and heavy episodic drinking is high but not limited to these Disorders. Alcohol abuse and/or withdrawal can cause similar symptoms to depression, anxiety, psychosis and antisocial disorder. This complicates the diagnoses of the above mentioned disorders- it needs to be determined whether the existence of the above disorders lead to a alcohol abuse or the alcohol abuse or withdrawn is leading to symptoms similar to the above mentioned psychiatric disorders (Shivani et al., 2002)

He treatment of heavy episodic drinking is something that is much debated and discussed. The treatment methods continue to evolve to provide a much better chance of recovery with as much ease as possible. Most of the times it is a combination of treatments that work best for heavy episodic drinking. These treatments include going for detox at a hospital or a similar institution that specialises in dealing with patients who suffer from alcohol abuse and its disorders. This is a popular treatment option as it involves trained personnel and doctors helping the patients with their treatment. Other similar options include going to a therapist, medications that help in recovery and joining support groups. 

Although consumption of alcohol is common, the overconsumption is dangerous to a persons health and life. Though heavy episodic drinking can be treated, the willingness of the patient who is being treated helps the process. As alcohol is addictive, recovery is hard on the patient undergoing it.

BIBILOGRAPHY

Masserman, J. H. (1976). Alcoholism: Disease or dis-ease?. International Journal of Mental Health, 5(1), 3-15.

McGue, M. (1999). The behavioral genetics of alcoholism. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8(4), 109-115.

Shivani, R., Goldsmith, R. J., & Anthenelli, R. M. (2002). Alcoholism and psychiatric disorders: Diagnostic challenges. Alcohol Research and Health, 26(2), 90-98.