title: Role of the serotonin transporter gene and family function in adolescent alcohol consumption.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  That the extent to which a particular individual will engage in problematic behaviors such as delinquency, violence, or drug abuse is determined by the way psychosocial, situational, and hereditary factors interact is widely accepted. However, only recently have researchers begun to investigate the interactions between specific genotypes and psychosocial factors in relation to behavior. The purpose of the present study was to investigate possible interactions between a polymorphism in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene and family relations on adolescent alcohol consumption.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study with a randomized sample from a total population of 16- and 19-year-old adolescents from a Swedish county was conducted. Eighty-one male and 119 female adolescents, who volunteered to participate after having answered a questionnaire, were randomly selected from quartiles of volunteers representing various degrees of psychosocial risk behavior.
  
  
  RESULTS
  5-HTT genotype (p=0.029) and family relations (p=0.022) predicted alcohol consumption independently as well as through an interaction with one another (p=0.05). The model explained 11% of the variance in alcohol consumption. In a binary logistic model, we found that adolescents with the LS variant of the 5-HTT gene and with family relations being "neutral" or "bad" had a 12- to 14-fold increased risk for high intoxication frequency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In sum, our results show that a functional polymorphism of the 5-HTT genotype, family relations, and interactions between these variables predict adolescent alcohol consumption in a randomized sample of adolescents.
authors.affiliation: From the Centre for Clinical Research, Uppsala University, Central Hospital Västerås, Västerås, Sweden. kent.nilsson@lvastmanland.se
authors.forename: Kent W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Rickard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Sjöberg
authors.forename: Mattias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Damberg
authors.forename: Per Olof
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Alm
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ohrvik
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leppert
authors.forename: Leif
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lindström
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Oreland
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
chemical_list: D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins