Health
07 Oct 2016
Mental illness genetically linked to drug use and misuse
By Tania Fitzgeorge-Balfour, Frontiers Science Writer A person’s genetic risk for psychiatric disorders is related to his or her vulnerability to substance use and misuse There are many reports of drug use leading to mental health problems, and we all know of someone having a few too many drinks to cope with a bad day. Many people who are diagnosed with a mental health disorder indulge in drugs, and vice versa. As severity of both increase, problems arise and they become more difficult to treat. But why substance involvement and psychiatric disorders often co-occur is not well understood. In addition to environmental factors, such as stress and social relationships, a person’s genetic make-up can also contribute to their vulnerability to drug use and misuse as well as mental health problems. So could genetic risk for mental illness be linked to a person’s liability to use drugs? This question has been addressed in a new study, published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Genetics. “Our research shows that if someone is genetically predisposed towards having mental illness, they are also prone to use licit and illicit substances and develop problematic usage patterns,” says Caitlin E. Carey, a PhD student in the […]
