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Paternal Alcoholism and Offspring ADHD Problems: A Children of Twins Design

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Valerie S. Knopik*
Affiliation:
Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Community Health, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, United States of America. [email protected]
Theodore Jacob
Affiliation:
Veteran Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park, California, United States of America.
Jon Randolph Haber
Affiliation:
Veteran Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park, California, United States of America.
Lance P. Swenson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Suffolk University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Donelle N. Howell
Affiliation:
Veteran Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park, California, United States of America.
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr Valerie S. Knopik, Brown University, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Box G-S121-4, Providence, RI 02912, USA.

Abstract

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Objective: A recent Children-of-Female-Twin design suggests that the association between maternal alcohol use disorder and offspring ADHD is due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors, such as prenatal nicotine exposure. We present here a complementary analysis using a Children-of-Male-Twin design examining the association between paternal alcoholism and offspring attention deficit hyperactivity problems (ADHP). Methods: Children-of-twins design: offspring were classified into 4 groups of varying genetic and environmental risk based on father and co-twin's alcohol dependence status. Results: Univariate results are suggestive of a genetic association between paternal alcohol dependence and broadly defined offspring ADHP. Specifically, offspring of male twins with a history of DSM-III-R alcohol dependence, as well as offspring of non-alcohol dependent monozygotic twins whose co-twin was alcohol dependent, were significantly more likely to exhibit ADHP than control offspring. However, multivariate models show maternal variables independently predicting increased risk for offspring ADHP and significantly decreased support for a genetic mechanism of parent-to-child transmission. Conclusions: In support of earlier work, maternal variables (i.e., maternal ADHD and prenatal exposure) were strongly associated with child ADHP; however, the role of paternal alcohol dependence influences was not definitive. While genetic transmission may be important, the association between paternal alcohol dependence and child ADHP is more likely to be indirect and a result of several pathways.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009