Exploring gene-environment interactions: socioregional moderation of alcohol use.
Examples of gene-environment interaction in human behavioral data are relatively rare; those that exist have used simple, dichotomous measures of the environment. The authors describe a model that allows for the specification of more continuous, more realistic variations in environments as moderators of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. Using data from a population-based Finnish twin study, the authors document strong moderating effects of socioregional environments on genetic and environmental influences on adolescent alcohol use, with nearly a five-fold difference in the magnitude of genetic effects between environmental extremes. The incorporation of specific environmental measures into genetically informative designs should prove to be a powerful method for better understanding the nature of gene-environment interaction and its contribution to the etiology of behavioral variation.
Dick
D M
DM
Department of Psychology, Indiana University at Bloomington, 47405, USA.
Rose
R J
RJ
Viken
R J
RJ
Kaprio
J
J
Koskenvuo
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D014427:Twins / Q000235:genetics