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Harvard University: identifying mutations in genes associated with coffee addiction

Published: 2026-01-18 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/01/18, A new large-scale study has identified six new genetic variants associated with habitual coffee consumption, a recent study has found. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Bregan Women's Hospital have used genome-wide analysis to help explain why a given amount of coffee or caffeine has different effects on different people and explore the link between coffee and health for the future.

A new large-scale study has identified six new genetic variants associated with habitual coffee consumption, a recent study has found. Through genome-wide analysis, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Bregan Women's Hospital helped explain why a given amount of coffee or caffeine has different effects on different people. it provides genetic basis for future studies to explore the link between coffee and health.

"Coffee and caffeine are associated with health promotion or health damage. Our findings may identify a small number of people who pursue health and are most likely to benefit from more or less coffee consumption. " Marilyn Cornelis, a research assistant in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Genetics has always suspected that coffee and caffeine are the reasons for individual differences. However, it is still a challenging task to accurately locate specific gene mutations.

Some researchers from the Coffee and caffeine Genetics Association used comprehensive genome-wide data to analyze the ancestors of more than 120000 European and African-Americans who regularly drank coffee. They found that two genetic variants are associated with caffeine metabolism, POR and ABCG2 (the other two, AHR and CYP1A2, have been previously identified). These two variants have been identified as close relatives of BDNF and SLC6A4, which may promote the beneficial effects of caffeine. Two other relatives, GCKR and MLXIPL, contain glucose and lipid metabolism-never before associated with coffee metabolism or the effects of coffee on the nervous system.

The results show that people naturally regulate caffeine intake to produce the optimal effect, and the strongest genetic factor is related to increased caffeine metabolism due to coffee intake.

"in the past, new candidate genes were not the subject of our attention, so this is an important step in the study of coffee." Cornelis said.

"as with previous genetic analyses of smoking and drinking, this study serves as an example of how genes affect certain types of habitual behavior." Daniel Chasman said.