Neighborhood Deprivation Moderates Shared and Unique Environmental Influences on Hazardous Drinking: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Co-Twin Study

Subst Use Misuse. 2020;55(10):1625-1632. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2020.1756332. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Abstract

Background: There has been increased interest in the interplay of genetic and environmental factors in the development of problematic alcohol use, including socioeconomic conditions of the neighborhood. Using a co-twin design, we examined the extent to which contributions of genetic, shared environmental, and unique environmental influences on hazardous drinking differed according to levels of neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation. Method: Data came from 1,521 monozygotic (MZ) and 609 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs surveyed in Washington State. A measure of neighborhood deprivation was created based on census-tract-level variables and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test 3-item instrument was used to assess level of hazardous drinking. We tested a series of nested structural equation models to examine associations among hazardous drinking, neighborhood deprivation, and the variance components (genetic [A], shared [C] and unique environmental [E] influences) of these two constructs, testing for both main effects and moderation by neighborhood deprivation. Results: Neighborhood deprivation was significantly associated with increased hazardous drinking, after accounting for A and C variance common to both phenotypes. Adjusting for within-pair differences in income and education, neighborhood deprivation moderated the magnitude of variance components of hazardous drinking, with the variance attributable to shared environment and non-shared environment increasing in more deprived neighborhoods. Conclusions: Findings point to amplification of early childhood as well as unique adulthood environmental risk on hazardous drinking in areas of greater deprivation.

Keywords: Alcohol; gene-environment interplay; heritability; neighborhood; twin design.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Twin Study

MeSH terms

  • Alcoholism* / epidemiology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Gene-Environment Interaction*
  • Humans
  • Poverty Areas*
  • Residence Characteristics* / statistics & numerical data
  • Twins, Dizygotic* / psychology
  • Twins, Dizygotic* / statistics & numerical data
  • Twins, Monozygotic* / psychology
  • Twins, Monozygotic* / statistics & numerical data
  • Washington / epidemiology