Study finds coffee craving may be in the genes

A new study co-authored by HSPH researchers has identified a genetic propensity for caffeine consumption. The researchers discovered two genes that drive people to consume more or less caffeine depending on which variation of the genes they possess.

HSPH authors of the study, which appeared in the April issue of PLoS Genetics, include Marilyn Cornelis, Frank Hu, David Hunter, Majken Jensen, and Eric Rimm.

These new findings could be used “to advance caffeine research and potentially identify subgroups, defined by genotype, of the population most susceptible to the effects of caffeine,” Cornelis, lead author of the study, told UPI. “More research on the precise function of these variants is needed, however, and there are likely more ‘caffeine genes’ to be identified.”

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