Binge drinking linked to genetics

A recent study from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism finds that a link exists between binge drinking and an individual's genetics.\nBut Dr. Paolo B. DePetrillo, co-author of the study, said atmosphere and environment are also important factors in binge drinking.\n"My feeling is that a large proportion of individuals who are binge drinking in college are able to stop once out of the environment," DePetrillo said.\nDePetrillo said the idea for the study originated out of a concern for health problems created by binge drinking.\nThe study examined the drinking habits of a group of 204 male and female Caucasian college students, age 17 to 23 years old. A saliva sample and questionnaire asked students about their drinking frequency and amounts, which was used to gather information for the study. \nResearchers examined the saliva samples looking for 5-HTT, a serotonin transporter gene responsible for recycling serotonin in the brain. Everyone is born with two copies of this gene, which come in two forms, long and short. While most people have one of each strand, roughly 30 percent of Caucasians have the same strands -- either both long or both short. \nAccording to the study, students who have two short strands of the gene are "more likely to engage in binge-drinking behavior, drank more alcohol per occasion and reported drinking to get drunk more often."\nDePetrillo said the idea originated out of a concern for health problems created by binge drinking.\n"We believe that identifying specific risk factors for binge drinking might -- with a lot more work -- point us in directions that may lead to the development of new drugs that might be useful, in addition to counseling and therapy, for some individuals who continue to binge drink," DePetrillo said.