The Monday Morning Stimulus

Medical News Today Do genetics determine whether coffee is good or bad for you?

As strange as it seems, how much coffee or caffeine an individual drinks might be partly inherited from their parents. Previous research on twins has suggested that caffeine-related traits are 36–58%Trusted Source heritable.

To investigate these relationships, scientists use so-called genome-wide association studies (GWAS). In short, these studies analyze participants’ whole genomes to identify gene variants associated with a given trait.
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As strange as it seems, how much coffee or caffeine an individual drinks might be partly inherited from their parents. Previous research on twins has suggested that caffeine-related traits are 36–58%Trusted Source heritable.

To investigate these relationships, scientists use so-called genome-wide association studies (GWAS). In short, these studies analyze participants’ whole genomes to identify gene variants associated with a given trait.

“We were also able to confidently identify specific genes that influenced coffee consumption, including some that influence how quickly caffeine is metabolized,” Thorpe told Medical News Today.

In both the U.K. and U.S. datasets, the scientists noted positive associations between coffee consumption and health outcomes, including substance use and obesity.

MNT spoke with Michael Foti, PhD., an assistant professor of internal medicine at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York who was not involved in the study. We asked what a “positive association” between coffee and obesity means:  “This study found that certain genes were found consistently among enough participants to say the two may be linked.”

In agreement, Thorpe told MNT that “the genetics of coffee intake positively overlapped with the genetics of obesity and related traits.” She also added an important caveat: “This does not mean that coffee intake promotes obesity. Rather, it means that the genetic differences among individuals that influence coffee intake also influence obesity.”

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