This study presents the largest single GWAS of alcohol consumption to date and identifies eight genetic loci, at least three of which are novel. The SNP heritability of alcohol consumption is described for the first time with 13% of the variance in alcohol consumption attributable to genetic factors in this sample. Many of the genes identified in this study are expressed in the liver, suggesting that alcohol metabolism is an important driver of differences in consumption. Genetic correlation analyses found associations between alcohol consumption and many positive health and behavioural traits such as higher education, lower obesity and high HDL cholesterol levels. Although it is clear that high levels of alcohol consumption are linked to poorer health outcomes, the positive genetic correlations identified in this study are intriguing and warrant further exploration. Future work should focus on characterizing the biological role of the newly identified genetic variants in alcohol consumption and the potential causal relationships between alcohol use and health-related traits.
