I am engaged to marry a man whose father bother are problem drinkers. My fiance does not drink at all, but I’m worries about out children. Is alcoholism genetic?
A. There is no question that alcoholism is often clustered in families, both social and genetic factors figure the cause of this devastating disease. I to be honest with you: The fact that two immediate relatives of your fiance are problem drinkers is a concern. Even if he himself does not drink, you children may inherit a tendency to develop the disease. I am not going to advise you not to marry the man you love; however, you should go into this marriage knowledgeable about the potential pitfalls, and more important, you should take the necessary steps to avoid them.
I strongly advise you and your future husband to get some professional counseling about alcoholism so that you are both aware of the risks. Since you know that your children stand a chance of inheriting a predisposition for alcoholism, it is imperative for them to be counseled about their susceptibility, on the basis of genetics, to alcoholism. In this situation, force warmed is forearmed.
Here are some other facts you should know:
- The two major risk factors for alcoholism are make sex with a family history of alcoholism
- More alcoholism are men: they have a lifetime risk of a 3 – 5 percent change of becoming dependent on alcohol compared with women , in whom there is a 1 percent lifetime risk.
- When male sex and a positive family history both exist, the risk is highest, 25 percent of the sons of alcoholic fathers become alcoholics themselves.
These things “cluster” ( the likelihood of coexisting and related characteristics): male gender, early onset of problem drinking, familial alcoholism, a serious dependence on alcohol, a more rapidly deteriorating course, and a greater likelihood of alcohol-related problems (like criminal behavior).
Specialist in internal medicine and primary care.