So reveals a new study published in the journal T he American Journal of Medical Genetics whose conclusion states that people with blue eyes or light in general have a higher risk of ending up being dependent on alcohol than people with dark eyes . They are new advances in understanding the genetics of alcohol addiction.
Does alcoholism have a genetic component? With this starting point, the research carried out by the University of Vermont (USA) began. The scientists included 1,263 Americans with alcohol dependence problems . Examination of their data revealed that the lighter the participant’s eye color, the higher the incidence of alcohol.
Thus, even though there is currently no clear scientific justification for this connection between alcohol dependence and eye color , the researchers believe that this link is far from a mere coincidence. So much so that the genetic components that determine eye color are found on the same chromosome as the genes related to excessive alcohol consumption.
” This suggests an intriguing possibility that eye color may be helpful in the clinical diagnosis of alcohol dependence,” explains Arvis Sulovari, co-author of the study.
The researchers are convinced that further study of this association could lead to better methods of preventing and treating alcoholism and a better understanding of other psychiatric conditions.
