32. Genes influence women's caffeine use, Canadian Journal reports

By Tom O'Connell

The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health, published in Toronto, provides thoughtful current information based on a worldwide perspective. Here are excerpts from the May/June 1999  Journal produced by the Center for Addiction and Mental Health.

Genes influence women's caffeine use--

Researchers assessed 1,934 individual female-female twins for patterns of caffeine consumption. A report in the American Journal of Psychiatry (vol. 156, no. 2) indicates that while there was no evidence that family environment contributes to twin resemblance for caffeine intake, identical twins exhibit resemblance in caffeine consumption that is substantially greater than that of non-identical twin pairs.  They estimate the habitability of caffeine toxicity, tolerance and withdrawal at 35 to 45 percent, and the habitability of heavy caffeine use at 77 percent. Researchers conclude that addiction to caffeine demonstrates a pattern similar to that of other licit and illicit drugs, where individual use, intoxication, tolerance and withdrawal are substantially influenced by genetic factors. Also, the report says "caffeine is by far the most commonly used psychoactive substance."

Connection between addictive behaviors and depression found--

A survey of 42,862 Americans found that participants who had begun smoking before the age of 13 were "more likely to have a family history positive for alcoholism, be current smokers, and smoke more per day {and were more likely} to receive diagnoses of depression at a younger age." In the research outlined in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (vol. 23, no.3...NIAAA), it was also found that irrespective of age, smokers were more likely to use illicit drugs and be diagnosed with a major depressive disorder at some point during their lives with the greatest risk of drug dependence being for those who began smoking before the age of 16. These findings lend credence to the theory that there is "a common factor involved in addictive behaviors and depression."

Screening for teen suicide risk helpful--

 The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry's March supplement states that direct, confidential screening of high school students for risk factors, including previous suicide attempts, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse, have proven effective in identifying at-risk teens whose problems may be hidden from others. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among American adolescents aged 15 to 19. About 90 percent of teenagers who commit suicide have a mental illness. The highest-risk teens are boys aged 17 to 19 who drink heavily.                       

Wine drinkers and heart disease--

The connection between wine drinkers and lower rates of heart disease may be partly explained by healthy lifestyle, rather than wine consumption. According to a report in the American Journal of Public Health, a study on men aged 40 to 59 indicated that those who were wine drinkers tended to be light drinkers, have low rates of smoking and obesity, work in non-manual jobs, and were more likely to be physically active than those who consumed other types of alcohol.

Prozac questioned--

A new report on antidepressants finds that Prozac and other newer antidepressant medications are no better or worse than older antidepressant drugs....the Agency for Healthy Care Policy and Research of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which prepared the report, cautions physicians that not enough research has been done to establish whether the drugs are effective in the treatment of children and patients with mild forms of depression.

Secondhand smoke and pregnancy-- 

Researchers at the University of Louisville find that exposure to secondhand smoke may pass cancer-causing chemicals to the fetuses of pregnant women, Reuters reports. The researchers studied 475 pregnant women, and found that levels of harmful chemicals were higher in the umbilical cords of both smokers and nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke. After they are born, the children will be monitored over the years to see if they are more likely to develop emphysema, asthma, coughing, and overall rates of hospital admission.

Note: A sampling of articles in The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health may be found at www.camh.net/journal.

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