COMMON GENETIC RISK-FACTORS FOR CONDUCT DISORDER AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE

The association between retrospectively reported childhood conduct dis order (CD) and a history of alcohol dependence (PID) was examined in a sample of 2,682 male, female, and unlike-sex adult twin pairs. There was a strong association between CD and AD in both men (tetrachoric r = .34, odds ratio = 2.8) and women (tetrachoric r = .53, odds ratio = 9.9). Genetic factors accounted for most of the association between CD and AD liability in men and women, with the remainder of the associat ion being due to nonshared individual-specific environmental factors. Genetic influences common to CD and AD accounted for 17% and 35% of th e genetic variation in AD liability in men and women, respectively and accounted for 11% and 23% of the total Variation in AD liability in m en and women, respectively. The results suggest that there are common genetic risk factors for CD and AD or that CD itself is an important g enetically influenced risk factor for AD.