Genetic variation from polygenicity in genome-wide association studies can lead to significant risks of cardiovascular diseases and other diseases, says Dr. Dajiang Liu

Smoking and drinking can increase a person’s risk of cardiovascular diseases and other illnesses. Although both behaviours are influenced by environmental and social factors, there is evidence that genetics can affect tobacco and alcohol consumption. Dajiang Liu, a statistical geneticist at the Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania and the study co-author says that genetic discoveries are being translated into clinical applications. “If we can forecast someone’s risk of developing nicotine or alcohol dependence using this information, we can intervene early and potentially prevent a lot of deaths.”

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Epigenetic and environmental factors can turn off the genes. “Maybe it’s because of that reason, there aren’t a lot of differences” says ehime Temel, who studies medical genetics at Bursa Uluda University.

In which smoking is prevalent, the analysis didn’t include people from Middle East and Indian populations. “Tobacco use is very common [in the Middle East]. A medical biologist at the Near East University says there is a huge usage of the shisha waterpipe. He adds that including these populations in the analysis would improve its accuracy and help to identify more genetic associations.

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