GENETIC-ANALYSIS OF DRINKING BEHAVIOR IN WORLD-WAR-II VETERAN TWINS

The objective of the present study was to investigate longitudinal changes in drinking behaviors of adult male twins and model these changes as a function of genetic and environmental influences. Alcohol data available for World War II veteran twins, first surveyed in 1967-69 and followed up during 1983-85, were used to examine components of variability in measures of alcohol consumption. Multivariate biometric analyses of these data indicated 1) longitudinal stability of drinking behaviors in this cohort, 2) a significant contribution of genetic factors to the observed stability that accounted for more than 80% of the stable variation in frequency and in quantity of alcohol consumed per drinking occasion, and 3) evidence for a significant contribution of shared environmental influences to drinking of specific beverages (e.g., wine). The implications of these results for issues of health in the elderly are considered. (C) 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.