The Million Veteran Program (MVP) is now the largest genomic database in the world, with more than 550,000 veterans enrolled. Researchers have been mining the data for a variety of studies, including studies to examine the genetic risk factors for chronic use of alcohol, tobacco, and opioids.
Most people who smoke or use drugs also drink alcohol, and changes in one behavior are likely to be associated with changes in the others, according to researchers from the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VAMC. That likelihood suggests a shared genetic risk for multiple-substance use, but to date, studies on the subject have been limited by the small size of the available samples, the researchers say. The MVP is providing a unique opportunity to analyze massive amounts of longitudinal data to discover potential genetic links.
The answers also may provide opportunities for treatment and prevention. For example, it may be possible to reduce the use of multiple harmful substances simultaneously with more than 1 medication.
The first target in this “ambitious effort,” the researchers say, is heavy drinking. They’re using data from the Veterans Aging Cohort Study and from the AUDIT-C, a self-report questionnaire given annually to veterans, which quantifies recent drinking. The researchers plan to validate their initial findings, already published, and then combine that information with the genotype information from the MVP to identify novel genetic predictors of heavy drinking.
The researchers have begun to use a similar approach to study chronic opioid use and smoking. Ultimately, they plan to integrate all the findings to yield genetic profiles for multisubstance use.