Internet addiction in adolescents: the search for genetic associations

Abstract

The rapidity of the emergence and spread of Internet addiction in adolescent populations, combined with the amount of consumed content, is associated with the emergence of a problematic dependence on uncontrolled mobile access to the network. This makes the problem of searching for molecular genetic and psychological markers of high risk of developing Internet addiction relevant. The aim of the work was to study the prevalence of Internet-dependent variants of different degrees of severity in adolescents and the distribution of polymorphic variants of the COMT and CHRNA4 genes. It was revealed that the CC variant rs1044396 CHRNA4 is associated with Internet addiction in adolescents: its prevalence progressively increases with the severity of Internet addiction. Whereas the allelic variant T has a “protective” effect against severe and uncontrolled dependence.