Genetic pre-determinants of concurrent alcohol and opioid dependence: a critical review

Concurrent
alcohol dependence poses a significant burden to health and wellbeing of people
with established opioid dependence. Although previous research indicates that
both genetic and environmental risk factors contribute to the development of
drug or alcohol dependence, the role of genetic determinants in development of
concurrent alcohol and opioid dependence has not been scrutinised.

To
search for genetic pre-determinants of concurrent alcohol and opioid
dependence, electronic literature searches were completed using MEDLINE
(PubMed) and EBSCO (Academic Search Complete) databases. Reference lists of
included studies were also searched. In this discussion paper, we provide an
overview of the genes (n=33) which are associated with the opioid, serotonergic,
dopaminergic, GABA-ergic, cannabinoid, and metabolic systems for each
dependency (i.e., alcohol or opioid) separately.

The
current evidence base is inconclusive regarding an exclusively genetic
pre-determinant of concurrent alcohol and opioid dependence. Further search
strategies and original research are needed to determine the genetic basis for
concurrent alcohol and opioid dependency.