Asian Scientist (Aug. 21, 2013) – People with alcohol dependence may be more genetically susceptible to certain types of eating disorders, and vice-versa, according to a study of almost 6,000 adult twins in Australia.
In their study, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, the researchers found that common genetic factors seemed to underlie both alcoholism and certain eating disorder symptoms — namely, binge eating and purging habits, such as self-induced vomiting or laxative abuse.
They found that genes appeared to explain 38 percent to 53 percent of the risk of developing those disorders.
“This supports the idea that there are common genetic factors contributing to alcohol dependence and these eating disorder symptoms,” said lead researcher Dr Melissa Munn-Chernoff.
Past studies had shown that women who binge eat or purge have higher-than-average rates of alcohol use problems. They even have higher rates than women with other types of eating disorders. But it had not been clear whether common genes might help explain the connection.
For the new study, Munn-Chernoff’s team used data from 5,993 Australian twins, both identical and fraternal. Identical twins share all of their genes, while fraternal twins share about half—making them no more genetically similar than non-twin siblings.
Twin studies help researchers weed out the effects of genes from the effects of environment, including the “shared” environment twins had when growing up.
Overall, genetic susceptibility appeared key in the odds of developing any of the three disorders. What’s more, it seemed some of the same genetic risk factors that made people susceptible to alcoholism also made them vulnerable to bingeing or purging.
However, the researchers point out that it is not clear exactly which genes are involved and more studies are needed to identify the genetic risk factors.
The article can be found at: Munn-Chernoff (2013) A Twin Study Of Alcohol Dependence, Binge Eating, And Compensatory Behaviors.
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Source: Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; Photo: lucyburrluck/Flickr/CC.
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