In males, but not in females, once we had accounted for the first major genetic factor shared across AD and our four measures of AC, we found negative genetic correlations between drink frequency and the other three consumption measures. No such pattern was seen in females. Given the tentative nature of these findings, extensive speculation is unwarranted. However, these results would be expected if in males there were a different set of genetic factors, which predispose to regular low-quantity drinking (e.g., one beer a night), which is not associated with problematic use.
