Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T21:24:23.022Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Educational attainment, smoking initiation and lifetime nicotine dependence among male Vietnam-era twins

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 October 2007

J. M. McCaffery ,
G. D. Papandonatos ,
M. J. Lyons ,
K. C. Koenen ,
M. T. Tsuang  and
R. Niaura
J. M. McCaffery*
Affiliation:
Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, Brown Medical School and The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA
G. D. Papandonatos
Affiliation:
Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown Medical School, Providence, RI, USA
M. J. Lyons
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA Harvard Institute of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Genetics, Departments of Epidemiology and Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston, MA, USA
K. C. Koenen
Affiliation:
Departments of Society, Human Development and Health and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
M. T. Tsuang
Affiliation:
Harvard Institute of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Genetics, Departments of Epidemiology and Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston, MA, USA Institute of Behavioral Genomics, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego and VA San Diego Health Care System, San Diego, CA, USA
R. Niaura
Affiliation:
Transdisciplinary Research Group, Butler Hospital and Brown Medical School, Providence, RI, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: J. M. McCaffery, Ph.D., Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, 196 Richmond Street, Providence, RI 02903, USA. (Email: Jeanne_McCaffery@brown.edu)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Smoking initiation and persistence are clearly associated with factors commonly thought to be environmental in origin, including socio-economic status. However, twin models that incorporate gene–environment correlation and gene×environment interaction have not been applied to elucidate the genetic or environmental role that socio-economic status plays in smoking initiation and nicotine dependence.

Method

Twin structural equation modelling was used to examine gene–environment correlation and gene×environment interaction of one index of socio-economic status, educational attainment, with smoking initiation and nicotine dependence among 5119 monozygotic and 4295 dizygotic male–male Vietnam-era twins from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry, a national registry of twin pairs who served in the military during the Vietnam era.

Results

Educational attainment correlated significantly with smoking initiation (r=−0.27, p<0.001). Additive genetic (p=0.011), shared environment (p=0.002) and unique environment (p=0.027) components contributed to the correlation between educational attainment and smoking initiation. Educational attainment also significantly moderated the variance in smoking initiation (p<0.001), suggestive of gene×environment interaction, although the interaction with the additive genetic, shared environmental and unique environmental components could not be resolved due to multicollinearity. In contrast, educational attainment neither correlated with nor moderated nicotine dependence, once smokers had initiated.

Conclusions

Our study suggests that educational attainment is associated with smoking initiation, in part due to gene–environment correlation and gene×environment interaction. However, once smoking initiation is taken into account, there are no effects – be they gene–environment correlation or gene×environmental interaction – of educational attainment on nicotine dependence.

Keywords

Cigarette smokingeducation leveltwins
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 38 , Issue 9 , September 2008 , pp. 1287 - 1297
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adler, N, Boyce, T, Chesney, M, Cohen, S, Folkman, S, Kahn, R, Syme, S (1994). Socioeconomic status and health: the challenge of the gradient. American Psychologist 1, 15–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
APA (1987). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised, 3rd edn.American Psychiatric Association: Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Dick, DM, Pagan, JL, Viken, R, Purcell, S, Kaprio, J, Pulkkinen, L, Rose, RJ (2007). Changing environmental influences on substance use across development. Twin Research 10, 315–326.Google ScholarPubMed
Dick, DM, Rose, RJ, Viken, RJ, Kaprio, J, Koskenvuo, M (2001). Exploring gene–environment interactions: socioregional moderation of alcohol use. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 110, 625–632.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eisen, S, True, W, Goldberg, J, Henderson, W, Robinette, CD (1987). The Vietnam Era Twin (VET) Registry: method of construction. Acta Geneticae Medicae et Gemellologiae 36, 61–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Escobedo, LG, Anda, RF, Smith, PF, Remington, PL, Mast, EE (1990). Sociodemographic characteristics of cigarette smoking initiation in the United States. Implications for smoking prevention policy. Journal of the American Medical Association 264, 1550–1555.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Escobedo, LG, Peddicord, JP (1996). Smoking prevalence in US birth cohorts: the influence of gender and education. American Journal of Public Health 86, 231–236.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Falconer, DS (1965). The inheritance of liability to certain diseases, estimated from the incidence among relatives. Annals of Human Genetics 29, 51–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, J, True, W, Eisen, S, Henderson, W, Robinette, CD (1987). The Vietnam Era Twin (VET) Registry: ascertainment bias. Acta Geneticae Medicae et Gemellologiae 36, 67–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heath, AC, Berg, K (1985). Effects of social policy on the heritability of educational achievement. Progress in Clinical and Biological Research 177, 489–507.Google ScholarPubMed
Heath, AC, Jardine, R, Martin, NG (1989). Interactive effects of genotype and social environment on alcohol consumption in female twins. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 50, 38–48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heath, AC, Martin, NG (1993). Genetic models for the natural history of smoking: evidence for a genetic influence on smoking persistence. Addictive Behaviors 18, 19–34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heath, AC, Martin, NG, Lynskey, MT, Todorov, AA, Madden, PA (2002). Estimating two-stage models for genetic influences on alcohol, tobacco or drug use initiation and dependence vulnerability in twin and family data. Twin Research 5, 113–124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heath, AC, Meyer, J, Eaves, LJ, Martin, NG (1991). The inheritance of alcohol consumption patterns in a general population twin sample: I. Multidimensional scaling of quantity/frequency data. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 52, 345–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henderson, WG, Eisen, S, Goldberg, J, True, WR, Barnes, JE, Vitek, ME (1990). The Vietnam Era Twin Registry: a resource for medical research. Public Health Reports 105, 368–373.Google ScholarPubMed
Hettema, JM, Corey, LA, Kendler, KS (1999). A multivariate genetic analysis of the use of tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine in a population based sample of male and female twins. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 57, 69–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaprio, J, Koskenvuo, M (1988). A prospective study of psychological and socioeconomic characteristics, health behavior and morbidity in cigarette smokers prior to quitting compared to persistent smokers and non-smokers. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 41, 139–150.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KS, Neale, MC, Kessler, RC, Heath, AC, Eaves, LJ (1993). A test of the equal-environment assumption in twin studies of psychiatric illness. Behavior Genetics 23, 21–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KS, Neale, MC, Sullivan, P, Corey, LA, Gardner, CO, Prescott, CA (1999). A population-based twin study in women of smoking initiation and nicotine dependence. Psychological Medicine 29, 299–308.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koenen, K, Harney, R, Lyons, M (2002). A twin registry study of familial and individual risk factors for trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders 190, 209–218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koopmans, JR, Slutske, WS, Heath, AC, Neale, MC, Boomsma, DI (1999 a). The genetics of smoking initiation and quantity smoked in Dutch adolescent and young adult twins. Behavior Genetics 29, 383–393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koopmans, JR, Slutske, WS, van Baal, GC, Boomsma, DI (1999 b). The influence of religion on alcohol use initiation: evidence for genotype×environment interaction. Behavior Genetics 29, 445–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laaksonen, M, Rahkonen, O, Karvonen, S, Lahelma, E (2005). Socioeconomic status and smoking: analysing inequalities with multiple indicators. European Journal of Public Health 15, 262–269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lessov, CN, Martin, NG, Statham, DJ, Todorov, AA, Slutske, WS, Bucholz, KK, Heath, AC, Madden, PA (2004). Defining nicotine dependence for genetic research: evidence from Australian twins. Psychological Medicine 34, 865–879.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lyons, MJ, Kremen, WS, Franz, C, Grant, MD, Thompson-Brenner, H, Eisen, S (2006). Vietnam service, combat and lifetime educational attainment: preliminary results from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA). Journal of Research on Aging 28, 37–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madden, PA, Heath, AC, Pedersen, NL, Kaprio, J, Koskenvuo, MJ, Martin, NG (1999). The genetics of smoking persistence in men and women: a multicultural study. Behavior Genetics 29, 423–431.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matheny, AP Jr. (1979). Appraisal of parental bias in twin studies. Ascribed zygosity and IQ differences in twins. Acta Geneticae Medicae et Gemellologiae (Roma) 28, 155–160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matthews, KA, Kelsey, SF, Meilahn, EN, Kuller, LH, Wing, RR (1989). Educational attainment and behavioral and biologic risk factors for coronary heart disease in middle-aged women. American Journal of Epidemiology 129, 1132–1144.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neale, M, Boker, S, Xie, G, Maes, H (2002). Statistical Modeling. VCU Box 900126, 6th edn.Department of Psychiatry: Richmond, VA.Google Scholar
Neale, M, Cardon, LR (1992). Methodology for Genetic Studies of Twins and Families. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neale, MC, Harvey, E, Maes, HH, Sullivan, PF, Kendler, KS (2006). Extensions to the modeling of initiation and progression: applications to substance use and abuse. Behavior Genetics 36, 507–524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pugh, H, Power, C, Goldblatt, P, Arber, S (1991). Women's lung cancer mortality, socio-economic status and changing smoking patterns. Social Science in Medicine 32, 1105–1110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Purcell, S (2002). Variance components models for gene–environment interaction in twin analysis. Twin Research 5, 554–571.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robins, L, Helzer, J, Cottler, L, Goldberg, J (1988). National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule Version III – Revised. Department of Psychiatry, Washington University: St Louis, MO.Google Scholar
Rose, RJ, Dick, DM, Viken, RJ, Kaprio, J (2001). Gene–environment interaction in patterns of adolescent drinking: regional residency moderates longitudinal influences on alcohol use. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research 25, 637–643.Google ScholarPubMed
Scarr, S, Carter-Saltzman, L (1979). Twin method: defense of a critical assumption. Behavior Genetics 9, 527–542.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Self, S, Liang, K-Y (1987). Asymptotic properties of maximum likelihood estimators and likelihood ratio tests under nonstandard conditions. Journal of the American Statistical Association 82, 605–610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shenassa, ED, McCaffery, JM, Swan, GE, Khroyan, TV, Shakib, S, Lerman, C, Lyons, M, Mouttapa, M, Niaura, RS, Buka, SL, Leslie, F, Santangelo, SL (2003). Intergenerational transmission of tobacco use and dependence: a transdisciplinary perspective. Nicotine and Tobacco Research 5 (Suppl. 1), S55–S69.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sullivan, PF, Kendler, KS (1999). The genetic epidemiology of smoking. Nicotine and Tobacco Research 1 (Suppl. 2), S51–S57; discussion S69–S70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swan, GE, Carmelli, D, Cardon, LR (1997). Heavy consumption of cigarettes, alcohol and coffee in male twins. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 58, 182–190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
True, WR, Xian, H, Scherrer, JF, Madden, PA, Bucholz, KK, Heath, AC, Eisen, SA, Lyons, MJ, Goldberg, J, Tsuang, M (1999). Common genetic vulnerability for nicotine and alcohol dependence in men. Archives of General Psychiatry 56, 655–661.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vink, JM, Willemsen, G, Boomsma, DI (2005). Heritability of smoking initiation and nicotine dependence. Behavior Genetics 35, 397–406.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Winkleby, MA, Fortmann, SP, Barrett, DC (1990). Social class disparities in risk factors for disease: eight-year prevalence patterns by level of education. Preventive Medicine 19, 1–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Winkleby, MA, Robinson, TN, Sundquist, J, Kraemer, HC (1999). Ethnic variation in cardiovascular disease risk factors among children and young adults: findings from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994. Journal of the American Medical Association 281, 1006–1013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winkleby, MA, Schooler, C, Kraemer, HC, Lin, J, Fortmann, SP (1995). Hispanic versus white smoking patterns by sex and level of education. American Journal of Epidemiology 142, 410–418.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xian, H, Scherrer, JF, Madden, PA, Lyons, MJ, Tsuang, M, True, WR, Eisen, SA (2003). The heritability of failed smoking cessation and nicotine withdrawal in twins who smoked and attempted to quit. Nicotine and Tobacco Research 5, 245–254.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed