The broad goals of this proposal are to examine the courses, consequences, and causes of problem and pathological gambling (P&PG) in a sample of 1,200 middle-aged male-male monozygotic and dizygotic twin pair members (2,400 individuals) of the Vietnam Era Twin (VET) Registry. The project has four specific aims: (1) characterize the longitudinal course of P&PG by examining the prevalence and predictors of initiation, progression, persistence, and recovery of P&PG from 1992 to 2001; (2) explore the nosology of P&PG by examining the evidence for a continuity model of P&PG, empirically derived P&PG subtypes, and classic P&PG subtypes described in the P&PG literature; (3) assess the consequences associated 'with P&PG and different P&PG subtypes on health-related quality-of-life, emotional well-being, social adjustment, and socioeconomic status; (4) compare alternate etiological models of P&PG by examining the genetic and environmental overlap in the causes of P&PG with other addictive disorders, disorders of behavioral undercontrol, and disorders of negative affectivity. The twin sample, enriched for individuals at increased risk for developing symptoms of P&PG, has been identified from a cohort of 3,359 twin pairs 'who completed an interview that assessed P&PG in 1992. A broad range of relevant demographic and psychiatric data has already been collected by studies performed in 1987, 1990, and 1992. In the proposed project, a telephone interview will be conducted by the Institute for Survey Research of Temple University to update and expand information about access to gambling, gambling involvement, recent and lifetime symptoms of DSM-III-R and DSM-IV pathological gambling disorder, alcohol abuse and dependence, affective disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. Data will be analyzed using standard epidemiologic (Aim 1), latent class analysis (Aim 2), cotwin-control (Aim 3) and biometrical genetic techniques (Aim 4). Our twin design overcomes a major problem for researchers wishing to perform a population-based study of P&PG by providing a method to efficiently identity individuals who are at increased risk for developing P&PG symptoms. This, combined with the extensive information previously collected from VET Registry members, our large sample size, and the unique analytical flexibility provided by data derived from twins, will permit us to successfully address the project's aims.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01MH060426-02S1
Application #
6557981
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZMH1 (04))
Program Officer
Colpe, Lisa J
Project Start
2000-09-15
Project End
2005-08-31
Budget Start
2001-09-01
Budget End
2002-08-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2002
Total Cost
$49,708
Indirect Cost
Name
Washington University
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
062761671
City
Saint Louis
State
MO
Country
United States
Zip Code
63130
Scherrer, Jeffrey F; Xian, Hong; Slutske, Wendy S et al. (2015) Associations between obsessive-compulsive classes and pathological gambling in a national cohort of male twins. JAMA Psychiatry 72:342-9
Xian, Hong; Giddens, Justine L; Scherrer, Jeffrey F et al. (2014) Environmental factors selectively impact co-occurrence of problem/pathological gambling with specific drug-use disorders in male twins. Addiction 109:635-44
Tsai, Melyssa; Mori, Alaina M; Forsberg, Christopher W et al. (2013) The Vietnam Era Twin Registry: a quarter century of progress. Twin Res Hum Genet 16:429-36
Giddens, Justine L; Xian, Hong; Scherrer, Jeffrey F et al. (2011) Shared genetic contributions to anxiety disorders and pathological gambling in a male population. J Affect Disord 132:406-12
Xian, Hong; Shah, Kamini R; Phillips, Sharon M et al. (2008) Association of cognitive distortions with problem and pathological gambling in adult male twins. Psychiatry Res 160:300-7
Sartor, Carolyn E; Scherrer, Jeffrey F; Shah, Kamini R et al. (2007) Course of pathological gambling symptoms and reliability of the Lifetime Gambling History measure. Psychiatry Res 152:55-61
Xian, Hong; Scherrer, Jeffrey F; Slutske, Wendy S et al. (2007) Genetic and environmental contributions to pathological gambling symptoms in a 10-year follow-up. Twin Res Hum Genet 10:174-9
Scherrer, Jeffrey F; Slutske, Wendy S; Xian, Hong et al. (2007) Factors associated with pathological gambling at 10-year follow-up in a national sample of middle-aged men. Addiction 102:970-8
Scherrer, Jeffrey F; Xian, Hong; Kapp, Julie M Krygiel et al. (2007) Association between exposure to childhood and lifetime traumatic events and lifetime pathological gambling in a twin cohort. J Nerv Ment Dis 195:72-8
Potenza, Marc N; Xian, Hong; Shah, Kamini et al. (2005) Shared genetic contributions to pathological gambling and major depression in men. Arch Gen Psychiatry 62:1015-21

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