Paternal drinking and the risk of substance-related disorders in offspring

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109354

Commentary

No previous studies have analyzed or examined the impact of genetic associations associated with long-term, serious consequences without being diagnosed with a clinical alcohol problem.

This study was investigating and analyzing how paternal alcohol use is associated with the risk of substance-related disorders in offspring.

The study was conducted in a prospective cohort study of 64,710 Swedish citizens with fathers who were drafted for compulsory military training at the age of 18-20 in 1969/70. As outcomes, information on fathers' drinking, frequency of intoxication, and concerns about drunkenness was collected during the draft, and offspring were followed for substance-related disorders from age 12 until the end of follow-up in 2009.

All measures of paternal alcohol use were shown to be significantly and positively associated with the risk of substance-related disorders in the offspring. The researchers stated that this association is largely explained by other risk factors in childhood. They also found that in a fully adjusted model, subjects who reported having a father in the fifth with the highest alcohol consumption had a 63% higher risk of substance-related disorders compared to those who prohibited alcohol consumption. (hr = 1.63 ci 1.26-2.12)

And the highest risk was shown in offspring of fathers who had alcohol-related disorders and were arrested for intoxication, indicating a more than twofold increased risk of substance-related disorders.

The researchers reported that offspring with alcohol-related disorders accounted for a much larger percentage of all cases of substance-related disorders in the population.