Genetic link to nicotine dependence identified

A smoker’s chances of developing nicotine dependence might be determined by genetics, according to a story by Miranda Escobar for yaledailynews.com citing a recent study published in the journal Translational Psychology.

The study, the largest to date investigating the genetics of nicotine dependence and co-authored by Yale School of Medicine psychiatry professor Joel Gelernter, determined that nicotine dependence can be associated with variants in a particular gene: CHRNA4.

The study authors and experts on nicotine dependence say that by identifying the genetic cause of nicotine dependence, the research findings have the potential to assist in the development of smoking-cessation treatment.

“This study, for the first time, was able to … provide very strong statistical evidence that indeed the variants of [CHRNA4] are associated with nicotine dependence,” said Dana Hancock, study author and genetic epidemiologist at Research Triangle Institute International.

The full story is at: http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2015/10/20/gene-for-nicotine-addiction-identified/