Is Alcohol Use Disorder Contagious?

While registry studies have elucidated genetic contributions to alcohol use disorder (AUD) and important associations between spouses, few research groups have investigated how environmental factors might contribute to AUD patterns within families. Using several Swedish population-based registries, investigators sought AUD patterns according to familial and geographic proximity.

First, parents with AUD registrations were identified (primary subjects). Secondary subjects were 48,645 offspring living with the parent who received the index AUD registration when the offspring were aged 19 to 23 years. For comparison, each pair was matched with ≤5 control pairs, including parents whose index AUD registrations occurred when their children were you…