For AUDIT total score and AUDIT-C we showed positive genetic correlations with educational attainment and cognitive ability and negative genetic correlations with obesity, consistent with earlier reports (9, 10). These associations were not observed for AUDIT-P. Similarly, HDL cholesterol showed a significant positive correlation, and triglycerides a negative correlation, with AUDIT total score and AUDIT-C, but not AUDIT-P. These patterns were previously observed for alcohol consumption (9). We could speculate that these differences may be linked to socioeconomic status (SES). Alcohol consumption is often higher in individuals with higher SES (45), whereas alcohol-related problems, such as binge drinking (46) and alcohol related mortality (47), are more prevalent in individuals with lower SES. Furthermore, individuals with low SES are more likely to have AUDs with psychiatric co-morbidities (48). Consistent with this idea, we find positive genetic correlations between AUDIT-C and education, a trait correlated with SES (49), and positive genetic correlations between AUDIT-P and psychopathology. Our findings provide further evidence that different dimensions of alcohol use associate differently with behavior and that these differences may have a biological underpinning.
