title: Molecular Genetic Influences on Normative and Problematic Alcohol Use in a Population-Based Sample of College Students.
abstract: Background:Genetic factors impact alcohol use behaviors and these factors may become increasingly evident during emerging adulthood. Examination of the effects of individual variants as well as aggregate genetic variation can clarify mechanisms underlying risk.Methods:We conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in an ethnically diverse sample of college students for three quantitative outcomes including typical monthly alcohol consumption, alcohol problems, and maximum number of drinks in 24 h. Heritability based on common genetic variants (h2SNP) was assessed. We also evaluated whether risk variants in aggregate were associated with alcohol use outcomes in an independent sample of young adults.Results:Two genome-wide significant markers were observed: rs11201929 inGRID1for maximum drinks in 24 h, with supportive evidence across all ancestry groups; and rs73317305 inSAMD12(alcohol problems), tested only in the African ancestry group. Theh2SNPestimate was 0.19 (SE = 0.11) for consumption, and was non-significant for other outcomes. Genome-wide polygenic scores were significantly associated with alcohol outcomes in an independent sample.Conclusions:These results robustly identify genetic risk for alcohol use outcomes at the variant level and in aggregate. We confirm prior evidence that genetic variation inGRID1impacts alcohol use, and identify novel loci of interest for multiple alcohol outcomes in emerging adults. These findings indicate that genetic variation influencing normative and problematic alcohol use is, to some extent, convergent across ancestry groups. Studying college populations represents a promising avenue by which to obtain large, diverse samples for gene identification.
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Alexis C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.affiliation: Center for Clinical and Translational Research, Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Wolen
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Salvatore
authors.affiliation: Department of African-American Studies, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; Faculty of Business, Karabuk UniversityKarabuk, Turkey; College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Fazil
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aliev
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Brien P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Riley
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Cuie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Vernell S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: James N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Kitchens
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adkins
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Megan E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Cooke
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Jeanne E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Zoe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Neale
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Seung B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; Department of African-American Studies, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Danielle M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Dick
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Kendler
keywords: GWAS; alcohol consumption; alcohol problems; genetic ancestry; genome-wide polygenic score; heritability