# Integrating genetic and ecological momentary assessment technologies to advance models of PTSD-AUD comorbidity

> **NIH NIH R01** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $675,500

## Abstract

Project Summary
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly co-occur, and this comorbidity
is associated with higher consumption, treatment dropout, and risk for relapse. Urban populations of low
socioeconomic status are particularly at risk for AUD and PTSD. Research on the etiology of co-occurring AUD
and PTSD is needed in these understudied and low resourced populations to help address a disparity in the
knowledge base. Directional models of comorbidity exist, self-medication and susceptibility, although there are
major gaps (e.g., few studies testing direction of causation and or bidirectionality effects, lack of specificity of
assessment, lack of test of sex effects). Additionally, comorbidity could be influenced by genetic risk as both
AUD and PTSD are moderately heritable, overlap in latent genetic risk, and are genetically correlated in large
genome wide association studies (GWAS; rG=0.35). Black persons are underrepresented in genetics research,
and thus, genetically informed studies in this population are critically needed for equity in knowledge gained in
this area. The current multi-method study will fill these gaps by conducting a genetically informative ecological
momentary assessment (EMA) study using a longitudinal measurement burst design. Participants recruited
through the Grady Trauma Project (GTP), which consists of high-risk inner-city residents. We will enroll a sample
of 400 individuals and they will be asked to provide: clinical interview diagnostic data on PTSD, AUD, and
comorbidities, detailed self-report measures including trauma history, social determinants of health, other risk
and protective factors, and a saliva sample for GWAS. The EMA protocol will capture the temporal relations
between PTSD and alcohol use phenotypes (e.g., consumption, binge, AUD symptoms, craving) and clarify not
only who is at risk, but when the risk behaviors occur. Analyses will simultaneously test all three models of
comorbidity (i.e., self-medication, susceptibility, shared risk) and will test for sex specific pathways. Following
this initial period of EMA, a measurement burst design consisting of three EMA bursts, each spaced two months
apart, will occur to examine the impact of time varying social determinants of health (e.g., new trauma, financial
stress, racial discrimination) on the functional relationships found in the first aim. Lastly, the exploratory aim will
conduct genome wide analyses with a focus on a novel multivariate genetic method, genomic Structural Equation
Modeling (gSEM), which will be used to produce polygenetic risk scores (PRS) that index genetic risk for
comorbidity of PTSD and AUD, and unique risk for each condition. PRS indexing shared risk between AUD-
PTSD, unique to AUD, and unique to PTSD, will be incorporated into the best fitting models from the EMA
analyses to determine if the phenotypic relations found are influenced by genetic risk. This study will advance
our understandi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10909352
- **Project number:** 5R01AA030549-02
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** ANANDA B AMSTADTER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $675,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2028-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10909352

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10909352, Integrating genetic and ecological momentary assessment technologies to advance models of PTSD-AUD comorbidity (5R01AA030549-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10909352. Licensed CC0.

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