Session: Integrating Genetic Data into Prevention Research: Substantive and Methodological Challenges and Findings to Date (Society for Prevention Research 23rd Annual Meeting)

Prevention scientists have been encouraged to integrate biological processes, especially genetics, into their research. The expectation is that better specification of a biopsychosocial model of health, addiction, and related outcomes will facilitate the development of better health promotion and problem prevention efforts.   The present symposium reflects the collaboration between interdisciplinary research teams from the Social Development Research Group (University of Washington) and from the Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research (University of Minnesota) currently working on a project of gene-environment interplay in the development of tobacco, alcohol and comorbid problems. Challenges encountered include ethical issues that can arise in collecting and archiving DNA, addressing ethnic heterogeneity common in prevention samples, and successes and failures to replicate in candidate gene analyses. The three papers from the symposium present substantive and methodological challenges encountered, and some solutions to these challenges, as well as initial findings examining the association between of a set of commonly cited candidate genes and addiction and related outcomes.

The first paper examines participant attitudes towards the required archiving of genetic data and factors that influenced consent into an NIH-designated data repository. 673 respondents from two on-going longitudinal studies provided quantitative and qualitative responses to questions probing their views of archiving their genomic, environmental and addiction data in a national archive.  Results are intended to inform decisions and practices of researchers collecting these data as well as those building and maintaining the archives.

The second paper examines an issue critical to current genetics analyses: the role of ethnicity (ancestry) in etiology of addiction and related outcomes. Given the potential risk of spurious associations arising from gene-ancestry correlation, many geneticists use Caucasian-only samples. In anticipation of integrating genetic measures into the analysis, the present paper examined the impact of ancestry on the impact of adolescent environment on adult addiction.

The third paper presents the first genetics association findings from this collaboration.  Associations between six commonly studied candidate genes (MAOA, 5HTTLPR, DRD2, DAT1, DRD4, and COMT) relevant to alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use disorder are conducted, first in a large discovery sample, and then replication is sought in four replication samples. 

Together these papers present challenges that may arise and potential solutions for prevention researchers seeking to integrate genetics assessments into their study conceptualization and design.