An Epidemiologic, Longitudinal, and Discordant-Twin Study of the Association Between Gambling Disorder and Suicidal Behaviors

2022 ◽  
pp. 216770262110625
Author(s):  
Wendy S. Slutske ◽  
Christal N. Davis ◽  
Michael T. Lynskey ◽  
Andrew C. Heath ◽  
Nicholas G. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Attempt ◽  
Twin Study ◽  
Financial Crises ◽  
Gambling Disorder ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Disordered Gambling ◽  
Suicidal Behaviors ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Discordant Twin

Gambling disorder is associated with suicidal behaviors, but it is not clear whether the association is due to common etiologic factors or to gambling disorder being causally related to suicidality. This question was examined from the perspective of epidemiologic, longitudinal, and discordant-twin studies. The results suggested that the causes of the association with disordered gambling differed for suicidal ideation, plan, and attempt and differed for men and women. The association of suicidal thoughts with disordered gambling was noncausally explained by common genetic influences among women but not men. Conversely, there was evidence consistent with a potentially causal influence of disordered gambling on suicide attempt among men but not women, which might have been related to gambling-related financial problems. The use of monetary data to identify individuals experiencing financial harms associated with their gambling may represent a more practicable target for screening, intervention, and prevention and may reduce gambling-related financial crises, thereby warding off a potential gambling-related suicide attempt.

scholarly journals An Epidemiologic and Behavioral Genetic Investigation of the Co-Occurrence of Gambling Disorder and Suicidality in Men and Women

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy S. Slutske ◽  
Christal Davis ◽  
Andrew C. Heath ◽  
Michael Lynskey ◽  
Nicholas G. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Gambling Disorder ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Temporal Relation ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Disordered Gambling ◽  
Genetic Investigation ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
National Community ◽  
Underlying Causes

Individuals with a gambling disorder are more likely to engage in suicidal behaviors, but it is not yet clear whether this is due to common etiologic factors or to gambling disorder being causally related to suicidality. In a large national community-based twin sample, the temporal relation and the underlying causes of the association between gambling disorder and suicidality were examined. In the majority of instances of co-occurring gambling disorder and suicidality, suicidality actually preceded the onset of gambling disorder. The association between disordered gambling and suicidality was due to overlapping genetic influences among women (rg = 0.42 [0.23 to 0.82]), but due to overlapping unique environmental influences among men (re = 0.26 [0.03 to 0.48]). These results suggest that whereas the association may be primarily due to common etiologic factors among women, gambling disorder may be causally related to suicidality among some men. Potential mechanisms underlying these effects are discussed.

Contributions of Nicholas Martin to Gambling Disorder Research

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-128
Author(s):  
Wendy S. Slutske ◽  
Penelope A. Lind
Keyword(s):  
Medical Research ◽  
Twin Study ◽  
Gambling Disorder ◽  
Genetic Architecture ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Disordered Gambling ◽  
Study Methods ◽  
Medical Research Institute ◽  
International Collaborations ◽  
Genomewide Association

AbstractProfessor Nicholas G. Martin, from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, Australia, is a world leader in the effort to understand the genetic architecture underlying disordered gambling. This article pays tribute to Nick and his almost two decades of gambling research, highlighting his many strengths, ranging from the use of ingenious recruitment approaches, twin study methods, genomewide association studies, to facilitating international collaborations.

The Family History Method in Disordered Gambling Research: A Comparison of Reports Obtained from Discordant Twin Pairs

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy S. Slutske ◽  
Thomas M. Piasecki ◽  
Jarrod M. Ellingson ◽  
Nicholas G. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Family History ◽  
Problem Gambling ◽  
Twin Study ◽  
Disordered Gambling ◽  
The Family ◽  
History Of ◽  
Gambling Involvement ◽  
History Effect ◽  
Gambling Frequency ◽  
Discordant Twin

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine potential biases in family history reports of problem gambling and gambling frequency. Same-sex twin pairs discordant for a history of problem (n= 230 pairs) and pathological gambling (n= 48 pairs) and for three indexes of gambling frequency (ever gambling, monthly gambling, and weekly gambling;n= 44–517 pairs) were identified from a large Australian national twin study. The problem gambling affected twin was significantly more likely to endorse paternal problem gambling than the problem gambling unaffected cotwin (OR = 5.5), and similar findings were obtained for family history reports of gambling frequency (OR = 2.0–2.8). These results could not be explained by differences between the discordant pairs in whether they had spent time gambling with the parents; there was no association between a history of problem, monthly or weekly gambling and having gambled with the parents among discordant twin pairs. The results of this study suggest that relying solely on family history assessments of disordered gambling and gambling involvement can lead to incorrect estimates of the strength of the family history effect.

scholarly journals Beyond Heritability

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Johnson ◽  
Eric Turkheimer ◽  
Irving I. Gottesman ◽  
Thomas J. Bouchard
Keyword(s):  
Twin Study ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Causal Effects ◽  
Large Measure ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Environmental Controls ◽  
Individual Traits ◽  
Familial Influences ◽  
Discordant Twin

The heritability of human behavioral traits is now well established, due in large measure to classical twin studies. We see little need for further studies of the heritability of individual traits in behavioral science, but the twin study is far from having outlived its usefulness. The existence of pervasive familial influences on behavior means that selection bias is always a concern in any study of the causal effects of environmental circumstances. Twin samples continue to provide new opportunities to identify causal effects with appropriate genetic and shared environmental controls. We discuss environmental studies of discordant twin pairs and twin studies of genetic and environmental transactions in this context.

Genetic Influences on Eating and the Eating Disorders

2010 ◽  
pp. 102-122
Author(s):  
Tracey D. Wade
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Disordered Eating ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Current State ◽  
Increase Risk ◽  
Eating Practices

The current chapter reviews our progress in understanding how genes influence eating and eating disorders (EDs) by addressing the following areas: (1) how recognition of genetic influences on eating and EDs emerged; (2) the complex nature of genetic action; (3) what twin studies can tell us about genetic influences; and (4) the current state of linkage and association studies. It is concluded that genes are an important part of the explanatory framework for the etiology of EDs, with an important contribution of the shared environment to the development of cognition and attitudes that may initiate disordered eating practices, and a critical contribution of the environment in providing a context within which genetic risk is more likely to be expressed. We currently have a limited understanding of the specific genes that are implicated, and the ways in which genes and the environment work together to increase risk for disordered eating.

scholarly journals WHY DO PEOPLE DIFFER IN THEIR ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION? A NUCLEAR TWIN FAMILY STUDY

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Klassen ◽  
Eike F. Eifler ◽  
Anke Hufer ◽  
Rainer Riemann
Keyword(s):  
Achievement Motivation ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Parental Home ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Home And School

Although many previous studies have emphasized the role of environmental factors, such as parental home and school environment, on achievement motivation, classical twin studies suggest that both additive genetic influences and non-shared environmental influences explain interindividual differences in achievement motivation. By applying a Nuclear Twin Family Design on the data of the German nationally representative of TwinLife study, we analyzed genetic and environmental influences on achievement motivation in adolescents and young adults. As expected, the results provided evidence for the impact of additive genetic variation, non-additive genetic influences, as well as twin specific shared environmental influences. The largest amount of variance was attributed to non-shared environmental influences, showing the importance of individual experiences in forming differences in achievement motivation. Overall, we suggest a revision of models and theories that explain variation in achievement motivation by differences in familial socialization only.

scholarly journals Motives for physical activity in older men and women: A twin study using accelerometer‐measured physical activity

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1409-1422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sari Aaltonen ◽  
Katja Waller ◽  
Henri Vähä‐Ypyä ◽  
Juha Rinne ◽  
Harri Sievänen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Twin Study ◽  
Older Men ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Older Men And Women

scholarly journals The Value of Twins for Health and Medical Research: A Third of a Century of Progress

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Craig ◽  
Lucas Calais-Ferreira ◽  
Mark P. Umstad ◽  
Dedra Buchwald
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Medical Research ◽  
Twin Study ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Twin Research ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Genetic Contributions

AbstractIn 1984, Hrubec and Robinette published what was arguably the first review of the role of twins in medical research. The authors acknowledged a growing distinction between two categories of twin studies: those aimed at assessing genetic contributions to disease and those aimed at assessing environmental contributions while controlling for genetic variation. They concluded with a brief section on recently founded twin registries that had begun to provide unprecedented access to twins for medical research. Here we offer an overview of the twin research that, in our estimation, best represents the field has progress since 1984. We start by summarizing what we know about twinning. We then focus on the value of twin study designs to differentiate between genetic and environmental influences on health and on emerging applications of twins in multiple areas of medical research. We finish by describing how twin registries and networks are accelerating twin research worldwide.

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