Got a gambling problem?
It's not you, it's your relatives!
Hey folks, Laci Green here for DNews.
You're probably already well aware that gambling can be addictive.
What's a fun night on the town for most people can be a toxic breeding ground for impulsive
behavior in about 2-4% of the population.
Gambling addiction works just like other types of addiction: the person becomes obsessed
and they can't control themselves, it's the ultimate high.
They'll continue to pursue the high -- even as they're running into financial problems
and tearing their family apart.
Some may even break the law or steal in order to recover their losses.
Even though problem gambling is commonly seen as a personal failing by the mainstream, scientists
have found that there is real biology behind the behavior.
For many years, scientists thought that gambling was a matter of impulse control -- I mean,
claiming that gambling was like alcoholism was pretty controversial in the 70s and 80s.
But last year, psychiatrists moved problem gambling to the addictions chapter of the
DSM, reflecting our developed understanding of addiction in the brain.
This week, scientists have added more to the growing body of researching about gambling
-- and they've found some pretty important stuff.
Awhile ago on DNews we talked about how smoking is contagious, then pregnancy, and now gambling.
In a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, scientists have found
that having a relative with a gambling problem puts you at EIGHT TIMES the risk of developing
one as well.
Amongst those with gambling problems, 11% of their relatives also had pathological issues
-- compare that to the non-addicted population where only 1% of their relatives have gambling
problems.
But here's the real kicker: amongst the RELATIVES of those with a gambling problem, the scientists
also found a much higher prevalence of behavioral disorders: like antisocial personality disorder,
and social anxiety.
And, those disorders in the relatives didn't necessarily overlap with pathological gambling
itself.
There were some overlaps though with MOOD disorders: in the pathological gamblers, rates
of bipolar disorder, major depression, and substance abuse were much more common.
What this suggests is that problem gambling and some psychiatric disorders may have some
kind of shared genetic cause, which could hold the key to effective treatments and help
us better understand psychiatric disorders.
But scientists aren't quite sure what genes are at play..........yet.
Thanks for watching DNews everyone!
We'll be back soon with more science updates.