Alcohol consumption has been linked to psychiatric disorders and other health-related traits, although this has generally been limited to epidemiological observations16, 17 or by assessing genetic overlap using twin studies.18, 19 Levels of alcohol consumption within a population are strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, liver cirrhosis and cancer.17 Furthermore, twin studies have shown that genetic factors overlap with alcoholism and depression,20 attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and externalizing disorders.18 Studies that have assessed the SNP-based genetic overlap between alcohol consumption and other traits have been limited to other substance abuse phenotypes. They have found that the polygenic architecture underlying alcohol consumption is shared with tobacco, caffeine and cannabis use.21, 22
