COGA Blog

Here is a place to read about research findings from COGA. You can learn about the development and progression of AUD, risk and protective factors, genetic findings, treatment for and recovery from AUD, disorders that sometimes occur along with AUD, and more. A complete list of the scientific papers that have been published using COGA data can be found here.

Worried About Alcohol Use During the Pandemic?

COGA researcher, Dr. Danielle Dick, contributed a blog post to Psychology Today titled “Worried About Alcohol Use During the Pandemic?” The full text can be found at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/genes-environments-and-human-behavior/202005/worried-about-alcohol-use-during-the-pandemic. In the article, Dr. Dick addresses the increase in alcohol sales that has been seen across the country since the start of COVID-19 shelter in place orders. [...]

Alcohol sensitivity as a risk factor for heavy drinking and alcohol problems

General background about how genes contribute to alcohol use disorder risks: The pattern of causes of alcohol use disorders are typical of most diseases such as heart attacks and diabetes in that genes contribute to the risk in the context of the environment and a person’s opinions and attitudes (e.g., Schuckit et al., 2011, 2012b). [...]

Early marriage may lead to unsafe drinking behavior by those with higher genetic risk of alcohol use

A new study led by Rebecca Smith, and Dr. Seung Bin Cho made use of a sample of 937 individuals from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). Their manuscript will be published in a forthcoming issue of Development and Psychopathology and explores the association between marital status and heavy episodic drinking as [...]