Alcohol affects a very large number of diseases. A recent meta-analysis found that alcohol consumption was causally related to a large number of diseases, ranging from infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia, cardiovascular diseases, cirrhosis, and many cancers, particularly of the upper aerodigestive tract, colon, rectum and liver1. Genes that affect alcohol consumption, including those noted above that affect the very heavy consumption that is a key aspect of AUDs, can affect the risk for a disease caused in part by alcohol29. They may increase the overall risk by increasing drinking, or reduce risk by reducing drinking. Some alleles that reduce heavy drinking can, nevertheless, increase risk for disease in the subset of individuals who drink heavily despite having them.
