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Assessment of Genetic Correlations Between Tobacco or Alcohol Use and Neurodegenerative Diseases Using East Asian Genetic Ancestry Genome-Wide Association Study Results.

Linda Wang·Wiame Belbellaj·Frida Lona-Durazo·Sarah A Gagliano Taliun
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Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are the most prevalent late-onset neurodegenerative diseases worldwide. Both are influenced in part by genetic factors and are currently incurable. Tobacco and alcohol, the two most common substances used among the general adult population, are potential AD/PD risk factors and are also heritable. Although important progress has been made, most existing research on the genetics of AD and PD has been carried out in individuals of European genetic ancestry. Investigations in a broad range of groups are crucial to understand disease mechanisms. Given the current availability of ancestry-specific tobacco and alcohol use as well as AD and PD genome-wide association study summary statistics, we performed global and local genetic correlation analyses using East Asian datasets. Genes within the correlated genetic regions were subsequently used to identify potentially enriched biological pathways between substance use and neurodegenerative diseases. We identified a global genetic correlation between smoking cessation and PD, which we confirmed in complementary European genetic ancestry data. Gene set enrichment analyses highlighted potentially shared genetic mechanisms between breast cancer and AD, which warrants further exploration. This work aims to promote further analyses across genetic ancestry groups.

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FemaleHumansMaleAlcohol DrinkingAlzheimer DiseaseEast Asian PeopleEuropean PeopleGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGenome-Wide Association StudyNeurodegenerative DiseasesParkinson DiseasePolymorphism, Single NucleotideRisk FactorsSmokingTobacco UseWhite PeopleAlzheimer's diseaseParkinson's diseasealcohol usegenetic correlationtobacco useJournal Article

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Linda Wang, Wiame Belbellaj, Frida Lona-Durazo, Sarah A Gagliano Taliun. 2026-05-27. Assessment of Genetic Correlations Between Tobacco or Alcohol Use and Neurodegenerative Diseases Using East Asian Genetic Ancestry Genome-Wide Association Study Results.. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.b.70024

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Journal Article resourceAlcohol Drinking subjectAlzheimer Disease subjectEast Asian People subjectFemale subjectGenetic Predisposition to Disease subjectGenome-Wide Association Study subjectHumans subjectJournal Article subjectMale subjectNeurodegenerative Diseases subjectParkinson Disease subjectPolymorphism, Single Nucleotide subject

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