title: Review: Environmental influences on alcohol use: Informing research on the joint effects of genes and the environment in diverse U.S. populations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This review aimed to inform the current state of alcohol research on the joint effects of genes and the environment conducted in U.S. racial/ethnic minority populations, focusing on African Americans, Latinos/Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians.
  
  
  METHODS
  A key-word and author-based search was conducted and supplemented with direct contact to researchers in this area to ensure a comprehensive inclusion of published, peer-reviewed studies. These studies were considered in terms of the racial/ethnic population groups, phenotypes, genetic variants, and environmental influences covered. Research findings from alcohol epidemiologic studies were highlighted to introduce some potential environmental variables for future studies of gene and environment (G-E) relationships.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-six (N = 26) studies were reviewed. They predominantly involved African American and Asian samples and had a very limited focus on Latinos/Hispanics and American Indians. There was a wide range of alcohol-related phenotypes examined, and studies almost exclusively used a candidate gene approach. Environmental influences focused on the most proximate social network relationships with family and peers. There was far less examination of community- and societal-level environmental influences on drinking. Epidemiologic studies informing the selection of potential environmental factors at these higher order levels suggest inclusion of indicators of drinking norms, alcohol availability, socioeconomic disadvantage, and unfair treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The review of current literature identified a critical gap in the study of environments: There is the need to study exposures at community and societal levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These initial studies provide an important foundation for evolving the dialogue and generating other investigations of G-E relationships in diverse racial/ethnic groups. (Am J Addict 2017;26:446-460).
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.|Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.
authors.forename: Karen G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Chartier
authors.affiliation: Alcohol Research Group, Public Health Institute, Emeryville, California.
authors.forename: Katherine J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Karriker-Jaffe
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.
authors.forename: Cory R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.|Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.|Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.
authors.forename: Kenneth S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Kendler
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000235:genetics*; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States