Genetic scores of smoking behaviour in a Chinese population

This study sought to structure a genetic score for smoking behaviour in a Chinese population. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were evaluated in a community-representative sample (N = 3,553) of Beijing, China. The candidate SNPs were tested in four genetic models (dominance model, recessive model, heterogeneous codominant model and additive model), and 7 SNPs were selected to structure a genetic score. A total of 3,553 participants (1,477 males and 2,076 females) completed the survey. Using the unweighted score, we found that participants with a high genetic score had a 34% higher risk of trying smoking and a 43% higher risk of SI at ≤ 18 years of age after adjusting for age, gender, education, occupation, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI) and sports activity time. The unweighted genetic scores were chosen to best extrapolate and understand these results. Importantly, genetic score was significantly associated with smoking behaviour (smoking status and SI at ≤ 18 years of age). These results have the potential to guide relevant health education for individuals with high genetic scores and promote the process of smoking control to improve the health of the population.