Link explained by similar set of genes coding for both eye colour and a tendency towards alcoholism.
People with blue eyes have a higher chance of becoming alcoholics, a new study finds.
In fact, light-coloured eyes in general — whether green, grey or brown — are more strongly linked to alcoholism.
In comparison, people with dark brown eyes have a lower chance of becoming alcoholics.
The connection is likely down to a similar set of genes coding for both eye colour and a tendency towards alcoholism.
Dr Dawei Li, one of the study’s authors, said:
“This suggests an intriguing possibility — that eye color can be useful in the clinic for alcohol dependence diagnosis.”
The study was published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics (Sulovari et al., 2015).
Eyes image from Shutterstock
