Genetic and environmental contributions to the association between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and alcohol dependence in adulthood: A large population-based twin study.

Abstract

Previous research indicates that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently co-occurs with alcohol dependence; however, the extent to which shared genetic risk factors underpin this association remains unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate the relative importance of genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental factors for the overlap between ADHD and alcohol dependence in adults. Almost 18,000 adult twins aged 20-45 years, from more than 12,000 twin pairs (5,420 complete pairs), from the population-representative Swedish Twin Registry, were included. Self-ratings were used to assess symptoms of ADHD and alcohol dependence. Twin analysis was used to determine the role of additive genetic (A), shared (C), and nonshared environmental (E) factors. As a result, we found a significant association between ADHD and alcohol dependence (odds ratio 3.58; 95% confidence interval, 2.85-4.49). Twin analysis suggested that shared genetic risk factors explained 64% of the overlap between ADHD and alcohol dependence. Nonshared environmental factors accounted for the remaining 36%, whereas the contribution of shared environmental factors was minimal. We found no support for statistically significant sex differences in the overlap between ADHD and alcohol dependence. In conclusion the overlap between ADHD and alcohol dependence in adulthood was largely explained by shared genetic risk factors. This is an important step toward understanding the underlying nature of the risk of alcohol dependence in patients with ADHD and suggests that individuals with ADHD and their family members are important targets for alcohol prevention and treatment. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.