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Tobacco and alcohol use are leading causes of mortality that influence risk for many complex diseases and disorders1. They are heritable2,3 and etiologically related4,5 behaviors that have been resistant to gene discovery efforts6-11. In sample sizes up to 1.2 million individuals, we discovered 566 genetic variants in 406 loci associated with multiple stages of tobacco use (initiation, cessation, and heaviness) as well as alcohol use, with 150 loci evidencing pleiotropic association. Smoking phenotypes were positively genetically correlated with many health conditions, whereas alcohol use was negatively correlated with these conditions, such that increased genetic risk for alcohol use is associated with lower disease risk. We report evidence for the involvement of many systems in tobacco and alcohol use, including genes involved in nicotinic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission. The results provide a solid starting point to evaluate the effects of these loci in model organisms and more precise substance use measures.

Original publication

DOI

10.1038/s41588-018-0307-5

Type

Journal article

Journal

Nature genetics

Publication Date

02/2019

Volume

51

Pages

237 - 244

Addresses

Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Keywords

23andMe Research Team, HUNT All-In Psychiatry, Humans, Tobacco, Tobacco Use Disorder, Risk, Alcohol Drinking, Smoking, Phenotype, Middle Aged, Female, Male, Genetic Variation, Genome-Wide Association Study