New Study Suggests People With This Eye Colour Could Be More Likely To Become Alcohol Dependent

A new study has shown that people with blue eyes could be more likely to become dependent on alcohol. According to the research published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, the study showed that the likelihood of developing alcohol dependency appeared to increase as eye colour lightened. Scientists Arvis Sulovari and Da-wei Li from the University of Vermont studied the eye colour of more than 1,200 Americans with alcohol dependency issues. The study, which was looking to uncover the ‘alcohol gene’ found that those with blue eyes tested as the being the most dependent, while those with brown eyes were least affected. According to the findings, the research "outlines the genetic components that determine eye colour and shows that they line up along the same chromosome as the genes related to excessive alcohol use". The findings support a similar study from 2000, where female drinkers with lighter shades of eye colour were more likely to be alcohol dependent. Both Sulovari and Li hope the research will help further research into alcoholism, with plans to use their findings to treat those affected from diagnosis.