The use and overuse of both legal and illegal substances is becoming a chronic health concern in Kenya, as in most countries around the world. Whether sold over the counter like alcohol and cigarettes or illicitly, like cannabis, the perils of abuse are more than just a social concern: they are becoming a real public health menace.
Alcoholism has repeatedly been shown to be a disease, with genetic markers. But what about use of other substances? Can their overuse or abuse be traced to heredity as well?
There have been some studies drawing a correlatory link between genetic variations, or polymorphisms, for drugs and dependence, though these have largely been confined to European, North American and Asian populations.
The high toll that alcohol and drug overconsumption takes on African populations — whether the illegal brews known here in Kenya as chang’aa or those that come labeled and in bottles — make it a priority for us to look at African populations to uncover whether there are similar links in our own genetic makeup.
The African Population and Health Research Center is implementing a study to understand the interplay between genetic, epigenetic and environmental risk factors for obesity and related cardio metabolic diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. There are six study sites across four countries (Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Burkina Faso). There is evidence showing that genetic and environmental factors play a role in the development of alcoholism, with more recent findings demonstrating that processes related to genetic factors that do not manifest as DNA sequence changes (i.e. epigenetic processes) also play a role.
However very little is known about the situation in sub-Saharan African populations. The project seeks to build sustainable capability for genomic and genetic research on the African continent; investigate and understand genome structure in sub-Saharan African populations; and identify genetic variants that influence body composition and contribute to susceptibility for cardio metabolic disease. The goal of this groundbreaking initiative is to support Africa’s own development of capacity to carry out these kinds of studies in populations around the continent, in order to better understand the genetic and genomic markers for disease, including alcoholism.
With recent studies having demonstrated that the amount of alcohol one consumes and progression to alcoholism have genetic influence, the capacity to understand genetic and genomic markers of diseases by African scientists would lead to further research interrogating whether drug use and abuse are genetically linked. This could lead to an evidence-based approach to control drug use and abuse that fits the African context – and help the continent do more to eliminate one of the four main risk factors for non-communicable disease.
What needs to be done? Kenya needs targeted, sustainable and cost-effective approaches to the challenge of increased drug and alcohol use among its population. As a nation it is clear that we are deeply concerned about the effects that alcohol and drugs can have on productivity, economic development and the health of our young population.
we are concerned about the effect of drugs on productivity, development and health