Monday, March 26, 2012

My DNA 01: Heroin Addiction, Smoking etc

Got my DNA results from 23andMe, very quick in almost 3 weeks.
First off,  the 23andMe autosomal, Y-DNA, mtDNA and mitochondrial data can be downloaded here.

So until I get Zacks analysis of ancestral groups, here are a very few of the large amount of health and trait indicators I got with my DNA results analysis.  Please Note most of this type of research has been done on people with European ancestry, and applicability to South Asians is yet to be determined.
rsid       chromosome position  genotype       Trait
rs1799971     6       154402490    AG       Heroin Addiction
rs17822931   16        46815699    TT       Ear Wax Type
rs762551     15        72828970    AA       Caffeine Metabolism
rs1051730    15        76681394    AG       Smoking Behavior

Heroin Addiction: rs1799971  AG: Substantially higher odds
This study of 139 heroin addicts (primarily Swedes) and 170 non-addicts found that people with at least one G at rs1799971 have almost 2.9 times the odds of being a heroin addict. .
I was dead scared of the horse because of all the stuff I had read about teeth falling out etc. Good thing I am no longer a young adult and that I read all the warnings when i was a young adult.
  • Zhang H et al. (2006) . “Association between two mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) haplotype blocks and drug or alcohol dependence.” Hum Mol Genet 15(6):807-19.
  • Bart G et al. (2004) . “Substantial attributable risk related to a functional mu-opioid receptor gene polymorphism in association with heroin addiction in central Sweden.” Mol Psychiatry 9(6):547-9.
Ear Wax: rs17822931  TT: Dry Ear wax
Earwax type is highly heritable. This means that this trait is controlled almost entirely by your genes-environmental factors play little or no role. Because of this, simply knowing your genotype is enough to know your earwax type.
I have dry earwax and body sweat does not smell all that much (according to others) even though I sweat profusely (overweight). The sweat does tend to smell when I eat steak over two three days (this happens only during Christmas/Year end) and when I eat Ethiopian/Indian food. I think this because of larger amounts of Fenugreek (sinhala uluhal) in Berbere and Indian curry powder.  I guess that is Environment overshadowing Genes.
Caffeine Metabolism: rs762551  AA: Substantially higher odds
The form of the SNP rs762551 a person has determines how fast CYP1A2 metabolizes caffeine. In this study, people with the slower version of the CYP1A2 enzyme who also drank at least two to three cups of coffee per day had a significantly increased risk of a non-fatal heart attack. The study found that fast metabolizers, on the other hand, may have actually reduced their heart attack risk by drinking coffee.
I drink more than 6 cups of black coffee at work (US), specially because its free. Drink the stuff even before I go to sleep. 
Smoking Behavior: rs1051730  AG: More on Average if Smoker
Genes vs. Environment: Not all smokers are created equal—some light up just a few times a day, while others go through multiple packs. There are many social and environmental factors that affect whether people start smoking, but once they do, research based on Dutch Twins has shown that genetic factors play a large part in how dependent on nicotine they'll become and how much they'll smoke.
I used to smoke almost 3 packs (20 packs) as a teenager and young adult. Then stopped for about 13 years, started again and was smoking about 30 cigarettes. The only reason it was not more was cost and restrictions in ability to smoke in many locations. Stopped again and its been more than 6 years with the main motivation for stopping being cost and that I am a little too old to be bumming cigarettes.
  • Lerman C., Berrettini W. Elucidating the role of genetic factors in smoking behavior and nicotine dependence. Am. J. Med. Genet. B Neuropsychiatr. Genet. 2003;118B:48-54.
Also see
Sinhalese and Tamil DNA Admixture Analyis
Vijaya Kuveni: Paradigm for M mtDNA in South Asia

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