A researcher on an international project investigating the links between genes and alcoholism has appealed for volunteers in the mid-west to come forward.
Ms Deirdre King, a public health nurse seconded to the three-year, £3-million Alcohol Research Project, said the region had the lowest response rate in the State.
The project involves a large-scale sampling exercise followed by genetic analysis of the material in the US. It is being run from Dublin by Dr Dermot Walsh of the Health Research Board at St Loman's Hospital and Prof Kenneth Kendler, of the Medical College of Virginia, in the US. Other centres are based in Loughrea, Co Galway, Cork and Belfast.
Ms King placed leaflets at different locations and the biggest take-up came from five treatment centres in the region. "Initially we were told if we got two families a week, they would be delighted. If I got two families a month, I would be delighted. It has proven very difficult really."
The taboo of alcoholism has not helped volunteers to come forward. Ms King said an estimated 36 per cent of regular drinkers binge drink and at least 2,500 adults in Limerick city were at risk from excessive alcohol consumption.
"This figure is likely to be higher as it is widely accepted that the heaviest drinkers are least likely to complete questionnaires examining alcohol consumption patterns."
"People do not admit to having an alcohol problem because alcohol is really part of the culture here. It is seen as something to be ashamed of, so people do not want to come forward," she said.
The difficulty is compounded by the need for people coming forward to bring with them at least one sibling, and that both these volunteers recognise they have had an alcohol problem at some point in their lives.
"It need not be the exact same problem. You could be the binge drinker and your brother could be 10 years older than you and five years ago discovered he was drinking more than he should have been and was missing days from work or started getting the shakes the morning after on a regular basis and stopped. They do not have to be presently drinking," Ms King said.
The research, which is undertaken in confidence, has focused on siblings to pinpoint common genetic material which may make one prone to be an alcoholic. "I am getting plenty of people phoning but they do not have a consenting sibling and you need the pair," she said. Volunteers get paid £25 for the inconvenience caused to them. Over a two-hour period, they undergo an interview about alcohol, tobacco and drug use, and have a blood sample taken. A sample of cheek cells is also taken with a small, soft brush rubbed inside the mouth. The study is being done in Ireland because Irish people in general do not have a large ethnic mix in their backgrounds and are therefore genetically homogenous. "It means it will be easier to identify the common genes," Ms King said.
So far 282 families have been interviewed, with another 85 in the pipeline. A new target of 500 families has been set after the old one of 800 was seen as too ambitious.
"It is fair to say we have met more consumer resistance than we would have thought. If we proceed at the rate we are going so far, we should reach the end in another 18 months," Dr Walsh said.
According to Dr Walsh, studies focusing on twins and adopted children suggested there was a genetic basis for the illness. Unlike other conditions where a single gene is the cause, it is believed a cluster of genes make people susceptible to alcoholism in the right environmental conditions.
But he said there would be nothing "earth-shattering" about the results for some years. Pinpointing the gene cluster will open up genetic engineering options. Less controversially, it will allow preventive measures to be put in place for people prone to alcoholism.
Deirdre King can be contacted at 061-483469. The Alcohol Research Project is at FreePhone 1800-2000-41.
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Readers who want to contact Eibhir Mulqueen can leave messages for him by phoning 01-6707711, ext 6544.
emulqueen@irish-times.ie