Genome Wide Association for Substance Dependence
Author Information
Author(s): Catherine Johnson, Tomas Drgon, Qing-Rong Liu, Ping-Wu Zhang, Donna Walther, Chuan-Yun Li, James C Anthony, Yulan Ding, William W Eaton, George R Uhl
Primary Institution: Molecular Neurobiology Branch, NIH-IRP (NIDA)
Hypothesis
Are there genetic variants associated with vulnerability to substance dependence in both research volunteers and a population-based sample?
Conclusion
The study found that genetic results from a population-based sample align with those from research volunteers, suggesting that the findings are not solely due to the volunteer sampling method.
Supporting Evidence
- The study identified 172 genes associated with substance dependence.
- There was substantial overlap in SNP allele frequencies between the two samples.
- Monte Carlo simulations indicated that the observed clustering of SNPs was unlikely to occur by chance.
Takeaway
This study looked at the genes that might make people more likely to become dependent on substances, and it found similar results in both research volunteers and regular people.
Methodology
The study compared SNP allele frequencies between substance-dependent individuals and controls from both a research volunteer sample and a population-based sample.
Potential Biases
The reliance on research volunteers may introduce bias, as their willingness to participate could be influenced by their genetic predispositions.
Limitations
The ECA samples are of modest size, which limits the power to detect associations, and the study may not account for all potential confounding factors.
Participant Demographics
The study included 1071 individuals from the Baltimore ECA cohort, with a focus on European-American participants.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.0001
Statistical Significance
p<0.00001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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