Familial influences on gambling behavior: an analysis of 3359 twin pairs

Eisen, Seth A.; Lin, Nong; Lyons, Michael J.; Scherrer, Jeffrey F.; Griffith, Kristin; True, William R.; Goldberg, Jack; Tsuang, Ming T.

doi:10.1046/j.1360-0443.1998.93913758.x

Cited by 225 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The mechanism by which this occurs is presumably because having a gambling-involved social network both encourages gambling involvement and normalizes excessive involvement. In the case of family members, it likely also speaks to a shared genetic predisposition to problem gambling, the magnitude of which has been shown to be quite substantial [61–63]. From these analyses, it is clear that: a) gamblers need to be aware of the normalizing effect that their social group has on their own gambling behavior; b) friends and family of regular gamblers need to be aware of the facilitative role they have on that person’s gambling; and c) all gamblers need to be aware that problem gambling (and presumably heavy gambling) has a significant genetic basis and thus they need to be particularly vigilant if they have a positive family history.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of friends and family to recreational gambling, at-risk gambling, and problem gambling

et al. 2018

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BackgroundThe variables correlated with problem gambling are routinely assessed and fairly well established. However, problem gamblers were all ‘at-risk’ and ‘recreational’ gamblers at some point. Thus, it is instructive from a prevention perspective to also understand the variables which discriminate between recreational gambling and at-risk gambling and whether they are similar or different to the ones correlated with problem gambling. This is the purpose of the present study.MethodBetween September 2013 to May 2014, a representative sample of 9,523 Massachusetts adults was administered a comprehensive survey of their past year gambling behavior and problem gambling symptomatology. Based on responses to the Problem and Pathological Gambling Measure, respondents were categorized as Non-Gamblers (2,523), Recreational Gamblers (6,271), At-Risk Gamblers (600), or Problem/Pathological Gamblers (129). With the reference category of Recreational Gambler, a series of binary logistic regressions were conducted to identify the demographic, health, and gambling related variables that differentiated Recreational Gamblers from Non-Gamblers, At-Risk-Gamblers, and Problem/Pathological Gamblers.ResultsThe strongest discriminator of being a Non-Gambler rather than a Recreational Gambler was having a lower portion of friends and family that were regular gamblers. Compared to Recreational Gamblers, At-Risk Gamblers were more likely to: gamble at casinos; play the instant and daily lottery; be male; gamble online; and be born outside the United States. Compared to Recreational Gamblers, Problem and Pathological Gamblers were more likely to: play the daily lottery; be Black; gamble at casinos; be male; gamble online; and play the instant lottery. Importantly, having a greater portion of friends and family who were regular gamblers was the second strongest correlate of being both an At-Risk Gambler and Problem/Pathological Gambler.ConclusionsThese analyses offer an examination of the similarities and differences between gambling subtypes. An important finding throughout the analyses is that the gambling involvement of family and friends is strongly related to Recreational Gambling, At-Risk Gambling, and Problem/Pathological Gambling. This suggests that targeting the social networks of heavily involved Recreational Gamblers and At-Risk Gamblers (in addition to Problem/Pathological Gamblers) could be an important focus of efforts in problem gambling prevention.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of friends and family to recreational gambling, at-risk gambling, and problem gambling

et al. 2018

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“…A study conducted on a sample of 3,359 male twin pairs reported that genetics accounted for 35 to 54% of the liability for exhibiting symptoms of PG (Eisen et al, 1998). Perez de Castro, Ibáñez, Torres, Sáiz-Ruiz, and Fernandez-Piqueras (1997) found that the 7-repeat allele of the DRD4 gene was significantly more likely to be present in pathological gamblers.…”

Section: Neurogenetics Financial Risk-taking and Pgmentioning

confidence: 96%

Testosterone, financial risk-taking, and pathological gambling.

Stenstrom

Saad

2011

Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics

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The current review article considers the relationship between testosterone and pathological gambling (PG). Recent evidence suggests that high-testosterone individuals have a greater appetite for financial risk-taking and are more likely to succumb to certain impulsivity-related pathologies. Further, two markers of androgenization have recently been shown to be predictive of financial risk-taking propensity, namely second-to-fourth digit length ratio and facial masculinity. Given that financial risktaking propensity and PG susceptibility share neurobiological and phenomenological similarities, it is argued in this review that circulating testosterone levels, second-tofourth digit length ratio, and facial masculinity may be predictors of PG susceptibility. Potential caveats and future research avenues are discussed.

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“…[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] In the general population, family, adoption and twin studies have provided evidence that genetic factors might contribute up to 60% of the variance in the risk for substance use disorders and pathological gambling. 13 14 So far, ICD heritability has not been studied in the PD population. ICDs and substance use disorders might share common neurobiological mechanisms with involvement of monoaminergic, glutamatergic and opioid neurotransmitter systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical-genetic model predicts incident impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease

Kraemmer

Smith

Weintraub

et al. 2016

J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry

101

121

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Objectives Impulse control disorders (ICD) are commonly associated with dopamine replacement therapy (DRT) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Our aims were to estimate ICD heritability and to predict ICD by a candidate genetic multivariable panel in patients with PD. Methods Data from de novo patients with PD, drug-naïve and free of ICD behaviour at baseline, were obtained from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative cohort. Incident ICD behaviour was defined as positive score on the Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in PD. ICD heritability was estimated by restricted maximum likelihood analysis on whole exome sequencing data. 13 candidate variants were selected from the DRD2, DRD3, DAT1, COMT, DDC, GRIN2B, ADRA2C, SERT, TPH2, HTR2A, OPRK1 and OPRM1 genes. ICD prediction was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results Among 276 patients with PD included in the analysis, 86% started DRT, 40% were on dopamine agonists (DA), 19% reported incident ICD behaviour during follow-up. We found heritability of this symptom to be 57%. Adding genotypes from the 13 candidate variants significantly increased ICD predictability (AUC=76%, 95% CI (70% to 83%)) compared to prediction based on clinical variables only (AUC=65%, 95% CI (58% to 73%), p=0.002). The clinical-genetic prediction model reached highest accuracy in patients initiating DA therapy (AUC=87%, 95% CI (80% to 93%)). OPRK1, HTR2A and DDC genotypes were the strongest genetic predictive factors. Conclusions Our results show that adding a candidate genetic panel increases ICD predictability, suggesting potential for developing clinical-genetic models to identify patients with PD at increased risk of ICD development and guide DRT management.

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Familial influences on gambling behavior: an analysis of 3359 twin pairs

Abstract: Familial factors have an important influence on risk for pathological gambling behavior. The increasing access to legalized gambling is likely to result in a higher prevalence of pathological gambling behavior among individuals who are more vulnerable because of familial factors.

Cited by 225 publications

References 14 publications

The importance of friends and family to recreational gambling, at-risk gambling, and problem gambling

The importance of friends and family to recreational gambling, at-risk gambling, and problem gambling

Testosterone, financial risk-taking, and pathological gambling.

Clinical-genetic model predicts incident impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease

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