Mental problems in families of alcoholics

Close relatives of alcoholics are more likely to also become addicted to alcohol, as well as to other drugs such as cocaine. A family history of alcoholism appears to put people at increased risk of mental health problems, such as depression and panic disorder.Previous research has shown that alcoholism tends to run in families, and genes are partly to blame. For instance, sons of alcoholics who were adopted by other families were found to have a similar rate of alcohol abuse as sons of alcoholics who were not adopted. To investigate whether other disorders might also be more common when there is a family history of alcoholism, researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, USA, interviewed 8296 people with a first-degree relative who was an alcoholic, and 1654 people without such family history. The rate of alcoholism among people with a family history ranged from 29 to 37 percent, depending on the definition used. The researchers diagnosed the problem in only 14 to 21 percent of the study participants who did not have an alcoholic relative.

It was found that relatives of alcoholics were twice as likely to become addicted to alcohol as people without a family history of the disease. Relatives of alcoholics were also significantly more likely to become addicted to other drugs, including sedatives, stimulants and tobacco. For instance, people with a close family history of alcoholism were more than three times more likely to become addicted to cocaine. Moreover, relatives of alcoholics had a higher risk of depression, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and antisocial personality disorder, which can predispose them to violence. The findings suggest that there may be shared genetic vulnerability amongst relatives that puts them at risk of multiple disorders if they have a family history of alcoholism. To protect themselves, children of alcoholics should try to avoid drinking alcohol, since starting to drink, as a teenager, appears to increase the risk of becoming an alcoholic. Children with a close family history of alcoholism should also avoid trying drugs, since they are more at risk for having problems.

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