In the present study we identify eight independent loci associated with alcohol consumption. Four of these loci are located among a cluster of alcohol metabolism genes on chromosome 4q23 (ADH1B/ADH1C and ADH5) and have been previously identified as risk loci for alcohol-related phenotypes.9, 12 A SNP in KLB was also associated with alcohol consumption and this locus has previously been identified in a large meta-analysis of alcohol consumption in Europeans.15 The remaining three hits are novel loci (GCKR, CADM2 and FAM69C) in the context of alcohol consumption and as such this study presents a novel contribution to the genetics of alcohol consumption.
