Multi-ancestry study of the genetics of problematic alcohol use in over 1 million individuals

Problematic alcohol use (PAU), a trait that combines alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related problems assessed with a questionnaire, is a leading cause of death and morbidity worldwide. Here we conducted a large cross-ancestry meta-analysis of PAU in 1,079,947 individuals (European, N = 903,147; African, N = 122,571; Latin American, N = 38,962; East Asian, N = 13,551; and South Asian, N = 1,716 ancestries). We observed a high degree of cross-ancestral similarity in the genetic architecture of PAU and identified 110 independent risk variants in within- and cross-ancestry analyses. Cross-ancestry fine mapping improved the identification of likely causal variants. Prioritizing genes through gene expression and…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

  Awards: I01BX003341, I01CX001849
• BA
  Brain and Behavior Research Foundation

  Award: 27835
• TD
  Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program
• YU
  Yale University
• OO
  Office of Research and Development
• UO
  University of Pennsylvania
• AU
  Aarhus Universitet
• QB
  QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
• EC
  European Commission
• L
  Lundbeckfonden
• NN
  Novo Nordisk
• RM
  Region Midtjylland
• HL
  H. Lundbeck A/S
• NI
  National Institutes of Health
• MR
  Medical Research Council
• NH
  National Health and Medical Research Council
• NI
  National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

  Awards: R01 AA026364, P50 AA12870, K01 AA030083, T32 AA028259, K01 AA02829, U54 AA027989
• NI
  National Institute of Mental Health

  Awards: R01 MH124851, R01 MH124839, U01 MH109514
• NI
  National Institute on Drug Abuse

  Awards: K01 DA051759, DP1 DA054394, R01 DA054869
• NC
  National Cancer Institute

  Award: R21 CA252916