Across the genome, lifetime cannabis use and frequency of cannabis use were genetically correlated with more than 100 different traits including psychiatric conditions (e.g., schizophrenia, ADHD, anxiety and depression), cognitive traits (e.g., executive function and risk-taking) and physical health (e.g., diabetes, chronic pain and coronary artery disease). They were also associated with an increased risk for tobacco use, infectious diseases including HIV and viral hepatitis, and autoimmune diseases.
The study is one of the first genome-wide association studies to examine behaviors that precede cannabis use disorder.
“Cannabis use exists on a continuum,” said first author Hayley Thorpe, Ph.D., a visiting scholar in Sanchez-Roige’s lab and postdoctoral researcher at Western University. “By studying these intermediate traits, we can begin to map how genetic risk unfolds before cannabis use disorder develops.”
There are currently no FDA-approved drug therapies to treat cannabis use disorder. The authors hope that the biological discoveries generated by GWAS will support future efforts to identify therapeutic targets and preventative interventions against the disorder.
Additional co-authors on the study include: John J. Meredith, Mariela V. Jennings, Renata B. Cupertino, Shreya Pakala, UC San Diego; Pierre Fontanillas, Sarah L. Elson and the 23andMe Research Team at 23andMe, Inc.; Jibran Y. Khokhar, Western University; Emma C. Johnson, Washington University in St. Louis; and Lea K. Davis, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
The study was funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Institute on Drug Abuse (grants R01 DA050721, P50DA037844 and P30DA060810) at the NIH, and the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (grant T32IR5226).
The 23andMe Research participants provided informed consent and volunteered to participate in the research online, under a protocol approved by the Association for Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP)-accredited Salus IRB.
Disclosures: The authors report no conflicts of interest.
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