# Genes, neighborhoods, and alcohol misuse from adolescence to mid-adulthood in the Add Health study

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2024 · $314,888

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Where one lives is an important contributor to disparities in health behaviors and outcomes, but it has been
difficult to draw firm conclusions on the relations between regional/neighborhood context and alcohol use and
misuse. This may be because (a) the influence of alcohol use and misuse (and genetic risk for alcohol use and
misuse) on where one lives is rarely considered, and (b) the effects of regional/neighborhood contexts may
only be relevant for certain genetically vulnerable individuals. Incorporating genetic information into a
prospective longitudinal study of the relation between regional/neighborhood context and alcohol use and
misuse might resolve inconsistencies in the literature. The proposed research will involve secondary analyses
of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (AH), which included 20,745
adolescents in 1994-95 and has since conducted four follow-up waves. All five waves of data collection
gathered extensive health and behavior information, including alcohol use and misuse; administrative data
from the census and other sources were linked to the participants’ home addresses to provide information
about the region/neighborhoods in which they lived. Importantly, 9,974 participants provided DNA samples for
genotyping, allowing for the quantification of alcohol-related genetic risk by aggregating the effect of individual
measured polymorphisms into polygenic risk scores. The inclusion of 1,962 (289 monozygotic twin, 452
dizygotic twin, and 1,251 full sibling pairs) in the sample allows for the control of genetic factors when
examining associations between alcohol involvement and regional/neighborhood context and can provide
evidence consistent with a potentially causal relation. The three main goals of this proposal are to: (1) examine
prospectively the relation between regional/neighborhood contexts and later alcohol use and misuse, and (in
adulthood) the prospective relation between alcohol use and misuse and later regional/neighborhood contexts,
(2) examine prospectively, within exposure-discordant adult twin and sibling pairs, the relation between
regional/neighborhood contexts and later alcohol use and misuse, and the prospective relation between
alcohol use and misuse and later regional/neighborhood contexts, (3) examine whether alcohol-related
polygenic risk is associated with moving to or remaining in a high-risk neighborhood context and whether
alcohol-related polygenic risk amplifies the associations between neighborhood context and alcohol use and
misuse. The proposed research has the potential to provide critical insights into how alcohol-related genetic
propensities may exacerbate health disparities by influencing whether individuals reside in a high-risk
neighborhood context. It will also inform prevention and intervention efforts by clarifying whether the relation
between neighborhood context and alcohol misuse involves a direct causal relation. Evidence consis...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10940119
- **Project number:** 1R01AA031773-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** WENDY S SLUTSKE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $314,888
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-15 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10940119

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10940119, Genes, neighborhoods, and alcohol misuse from adolescence to mid-adulthood in the Add Health study (1R01AA031773-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10940119. Licensed CC0.

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