Discovery of gene-alcohol interaction loci influencing blood pressure in 1.1 million individuals from multiple populations

Genetic predisposition and alcohol consumption are risk factors for increased blood pressure (BP), but their interactions influencing BP remain understudied. We conducted population-specific and cross-population meta-analyses of genome-wide gene-alcohol (GxAlc) interactions affecting BP in >1.1M individuals from multiple populations. We identified 46 GxAlc interaction loci for BP, including 21 from one-degree-of-freedom interaction tests (PGxAlc<5x10-8; or <0.05/Meff, Meff independent BP associations at P<10-5), and 25 from two-degree-of-freedom tests of main and interaction effects (PGxAlc<0.05/M2df, M2df independent 2df-associations at P2df<5x10-8), including 7 novel and 39 known BP loci. The 12q24 locus highlights the genetic effect of BRAP-rs11066001 on BP, being ~6 times larger in current drinkers than in non-drinkers. Gene prioritization with 46 GxAlc loci identified 15 genes with ≥3 lines of evidence (location, literature, druggability, functional/regulatory annotation, or pathway analyses). Several loci showed sex- and population-specific effects and revealed biological pathways of alcohol's influence on BP, suggesting mechanisms underlying alcohol-induced hypertension.