Genetic influences on alcohol flushing in East Asian populations

<p><strong>Background</strong> Although it is known that variation in the <i>aldehyde dehydrogenase 2</i> (<i>ALDH2</i>) gene family influences the East Asian alcohol flushing response, knowledge about other genetic variants that affect flushing symptoms is...

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Main Authors: Cho, Y, Lin, K, Lee, S-H, Yu, C, Valle, DS, Avery, D, Lv, J, Jung, K, Li, L, Smith, GD, Chen, Z, Millwood, I, Hemani, G, Walters, R
Other Authors: China Kadoorie Biobank Collaborative Group
Format: Internet publication
Language:English
Published: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 2023
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author Cho, Y
Lin, K
Lee, S-H
Yu, C
Valle, DS
Avery, D
Lv, J
Jung, K
Li, L
Smith, GD
Chen, Z
Millwood, I
Hemani, G
Walters, R
author2 China Kadoorie Biobank Collaborative Group
author_facet China Kadoorie Biobank Collaborative Group
Cho, Y
Lin, K
Lee, S-H
Yu, C
Valle, DS
Avery, D
Lv, J
Jung, K
Li, L
Smith, GD
Chen, Z
Millwood, I
Hemani, G
Walters, R
author_sort Cho, Y
collection OXFORD
description <p><strong>Background</strong> Although it is known that variation in the <i>aldehyde dehydrogenase 2</i> (<i>ALDH2</i>) gene family influences the East Asian alcohol flushing response, knowledge about other genetic variants that affect flushing symptoms is limited.</p> <p><strong>Methods</strong> We performed a genome-wide association study meta-analysis and heritability analysis of alcohol flushing in 15,105 males of East Asian ancestry (Koreans and Chinese) to identify genetic associations with alcohol flushing. We also evaluated whether self-reported flushing can be used as an instrumental variable for alcohol intake.</p> <p><strong>Results</strong> We identified variants in the region of <i>ALDH2</i> strongly associated with alcohol flushing, replicating previous studies conducted in East Asian populations. Additionally, we identified variants in the alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (<i>ADH1B</i>) gene region associated with alcohol flushing. Several novel variants were identified after adjustment for the lead variants (<i>ALDH2</i>-rs671 and <i>ADH1B</i>-rs1229984), which need to be confirmed in larger studies. The estimated SNP-heritability on the liability scale was 13% (S.E. = 4%) for flushing, but the heritability estimate decreased to 6% (S.E. = 4%) when the effects of the lead variants were controlled for. Genetic instrumentation of higher alcohol intake using these variants recapitulated known associations of alcohol intake with hypertension. Using self-reported alcohol flushing as an instrument gave a similar association pattern of higher alcohol intake and cardiovascular disease-related traits (e.g. stroke).</p> <p><strong>Conclusion</strong> This study confirms that <i>ALDH2</i>-rs671 and <i>ADH1B</i>-rs1229984 are associated with alcohol flushing in East Asian populations. Our findings also suggest that self-reported alcohol flushing can be used as an instrumental variable in future studies of alcohol consumption.</p> <p><strong>Trial registration</strong> This study only used secondary data.</p>
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spelling oxford-uuid:7d0b7581-6838-474d-b887-c7e62408be232023-11-23T08:10:12ZGenetic influences on alcohol flushing in East Asian populationsInternet publicationhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_7ad9uuid:7d0b7581-6838-474d-b887-c7e62408be23EnglishSymplectic ElementsCold Spring Harbor Laboratory2023Cho, YLin, KLee, S-HYu, CValle, DSAvery, DLv, JJung, KLi, LSmith, GDChen, ZMillwood, IHemani, GWalters, RChina Kadoorie Biobank Collaborative Group<p><strong>Background</strong> Although it is known that variation in the <i>aldehyde dehydrogenase 2</i> (<i>ALDH2</i>) gene family influences the East Asian alcohol flushing response, knowledge about other genetic variants that affect flushing symptoms is limited.</p> <p><strong>Methods</strong> We performed a genome-wide association study meta-analysis and heritability analysis of alcohol flushing in 15,105 males of East Asian ancestry (Koreans and Chinese) to identify genetic associations with alcohol flushing. We also evaluated whether self-reported flushing can be used as an instrumental variable for alcohol intake.</p> <p><strong>Results</strong> We identified variants in the region of <i>ALDH2</i> strongly associated with alcohol flushing, replicating previous studies conducted in East Asian populations. Additionally, we identified variants in the alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (<i>ADH1B</i>) gene region associated with alcohol flushing. Several novel variants were identified after adjustment for the lead variants (<i>ALDH2</i>-rs671 and <i>ADH1B</i>-rs1229984), which need to be confirmed in larger studies. The estimated SNP-heritability on the liability scale was 13% (S.E. = 4%) for flushing, but the heritability estimate decreased to 6% (S.E. = 4%) when the effects of the lead variants were controlled for. Genetic instrumentation of higher alcohol intake using these variants recapitulated known associations of alcohol intake with hypertension. Using self-reported alcohol flushing as an instrument gave a similar association pattern of higher alcohol intake and cardiovascular disease-related traits (e.g. stroke).</p> <p><strong>Conclusion</strong> This study confirms that <i>ALDH2</i>-rs671 and <i>ADH1B</i>-rs1229984 are associated with alcohol flushing in East Asian populations. Our findings also suggest that self-reported alcohol flushing can be used as an instrumental variable in future studies of alcohol consumption.</p> <p><strong>Trial registration</strong> This study only used secondary data.</p>
spellingShingle Cho, Y
Lin, K
Lee, S-H
Yu, C
Valle, DS
Avery, D
Lv, J
Jung, K
Li, L
Smith, GD
Chen, Z
Millwood, I
Hemani, G
Walters, R
Genetic influences on alcohol flushing in East Asian populations
title Genetic influences on alcohol flushing in East Asian populations
title_full Genetic influences on alcohol flushing in East Asian populations
title_fullStr Genetic influences on alcohol flushing in East Asian populations
title_full_unstemmed Genetic influences on alcohol flushing in East Asian populations
title_short Genetic influences on alcohol flushing in East Asian populations
title_sort genetic influences on alcohol flushing in east asian populations
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