medRxivGenetic & Genomic MedicinePreprint
Examining the causal genetic effects of substance use on aging
Jared V. BalbonaiD, Paul W. JeffriesiD, Aaron J. GorelikiD, Elliot C. NelsoniD, Ryan BogdaniD, Arpana Agrawal AiD, Emma C. JohnsoniD
Abstract
Substance use shortens lifespan, impedes health, and accelerates the biological aging process. We found widespread genetic correlations between alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and opioid use and use disorders with indices of aging across the lifespan. There was evidence of tobacco and alcohol use and use disorders causally impacting physical, cognitive, and biological aging, with the effects of alcohol being more dependent on quantity of consumption; evidence of reverse causality was scant.
- organism: human
- assay: GWAS summary statistics
- research focus: GWAS / association mapping
- approach: statistical model
- Citations
- 1
Reproducibility ledger
Nobody has reported trying to reproduce this paper yet. Did you replicate an experiment or run the code? Your report saves the next lab a week.
Sign in to file a reproducibility report.
Related papers
- Association of brain age with smoking, alcohol consumption, and genetic variants
Kaida Ning, Lu Zhao, … Arthur W. Toga·bioRxiv·Nov 14, 2018
- A mathematical model that predicts human biological age from physiological traits identifies environmental and genetic factors that influence aging
Sergiy Libert, Alex Chekholko, Cynthia J. Kenyon·eLifePeer-reviewed·Jun 11, 2025
- Genetic associations for two biological age measures point to distinct aging phenotypes
Chia‐Ling Kuo, Luke C. Pilling, … Morgan E. Levine·Aging CellPeer-reviewed·May 26, 2021
- Neuroanatomical features reveal accelerated brain age in alcohol use disorder
Chella Kamarajan, Babak Assai Ardekani, … Bernice Porjesz A·bioRxiv·Sep 30, 2025
- Genetic Nurture in Intergenerational Transmission of Substance Use
Mannan Luo, Victória Trindade Pons, … Hanna M. van Loo·Nature CommunicationsPeer-reviewed·Mar 26, 2026
- The Association between Alcohol Consumption and Telomere Length: A Meta-Analysis Focusing on Observational Studies
Jianqiang Li, Yu Guan, … Weiliang Qiu·bioRxiv·Jul 23, 2018