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Investigating The Role Of Genetic Variants And Environmental Factors In The Trajectory Of Substance Use Disorders, Linda Johnson
Investigating The Role Of Genetic Variants And Environmental Factors In The Trajectory Of Substance Use Disorders, Linda Johnson
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Substance use disorders are a serious threat to public health with devastating social, economic, and health impacts on affected individuals and their families. This dissertation aims to improve understanding of substance use disorders in three parts: first, an epidemiological project examining smoking cessation and e-cigarette use at a population level; second, a genetic project examining the role of genetic variants on tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine use; and finally, a review of the utility of polygenic risk scores in predicting risk of substance use behaviors. Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of preventable death, accounting for over 480,000 deaths in …
Refining Associations Between Targeted Genes And The Development Of Substance Use Disorders, Emily Olfson
Refining Associations Between Targeted Genes And The Development Of Substance Use Disorders, Emily Olfson
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) provide strong evidence for the contribution of a few specific genes to alcohol and nicotine dependence. Chapter 2 explores numerous previously identified candidate genes for alcohol dependence using a publicly available GWAS. I found that many candidate loci do not replicate, highlighting the utility of GWAS for focusing on disease associated genes. Chapters 3-5 dissect associations between three genome-wide significant genes and substance use disorders. Chapter 3 focuses on a functional variant in alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) 1B. Through examining 1,550 adolescent drinkers in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA), I extended adult …