Is Alcoholism Passed Through The Genes?

Certainly the popular notion that alcoholism may be inherited from our parents has gained momentum in recent times. This is not a new school of thought by any means, but it has gained creditability as a result of detailed investigations that have been carried out in the name of science these past decades. There is no question that typically a pattern emerges where a tendency to alcoholism and alcohol related problems do affect siblings and generations within a family. By no means does this conclusively indicate that alcoholism or alcohol related problems will plague you because you inherited the gene from a parent.

On the other hand, there are many genetically inherited characteristics that have been proven to impact on the likelihood of an individual becoming a statistic of alcoholism related concerns. It is safley surmised that the genetic predisposition toward alcoholism may be a combination of social factors and genetic predisposition. As yet, there has not been a breakthrough in the discovery of a particular alcoholic gene but there have been significant findings in the relationship between some inherited genes that are known to be present in a vast number of alcoholics studied. The gene found in those suffering from depression is 5-HTT (the serotonin transporter gene), is but one example of a commonly inherited gene shared by a large number of alcoholics. The presence of this gene also does not doom a person to depression. Like alcoholism, social and environmental ...... more