Addiction is a chronic brain disease since it affects reward and motivation centers. More often than not, scientists have posited that genetic and hereditary components lead to the development of addiction in offsprings.
Alcohol use disorder is a medical term for alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Science has linked the disorder o specific genes. For instance, if a parent has high levels of alcoholism, chances are one of the children will develop the disease.
From a medical perspective, genetic heredity is closely linked to alcoholism since children pass the genes down to their children. The disease therefore could be in the genome and is caused by a gene mutation.
In the United States, there are 18 million adults who struggle with alcoholism. In Kenya, the figure is currently estimated at 2.5 million, but we have other undocumented cases. Annually, the country loses about 10,000 people to alcoholism and alcohol abuse-related medical cases such as organ damage and liver cirrhosis. Some people are victims of alcoholism through death from accidents where drivers are driving under influence.
Genes that could influence alcoholism include
- Serotonin Production Genes- Serotonin is the mood-regulating neurotransmitter that is closely associated with depression. When a person is depressed, abnormal levels of the hormone can trigger drinking to trigger positive moods.
- Different warning signals mean that some people would have cravings for alcohol which leads to alcoholism.
Heredity and Alcoholism
Research done in 2011 showed that children of alcoholics have lower chances of abusing alcohol. This could be linked to the fact that the environment plays a role in shaping the behavior of a child. Growing up in an environment where they are surrounded by alcoholics, children tend to become alcohol users in their adult lives. Therefore, the environment plays a powerful role in the development of alcoholism.