New research identifies shared genetic factors between addiction and educational attainment

A new study published in Addiction has identified genetic factors that influence both a person’s risk of developing an addiction and their educational attainment. Researchers found that some genetic variants affect both traits in opposite directions, meaning that a higher genetic risk for addiction is associated with an increased likelihood of lower educational attainment.

Lead author Dr. Judit Cabana-Domínguez from the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) explains: “We have long known that substance use problems and school difficulties often appear together and make each other worse.  Our research shows that part of this connection is explained by shared genetic factors.”

The research team recruited over 1,400 participants with substance use disorders involving cocaine, opiates, cannabis and/or sedatives. Using a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS), they identified a subset of genetic variants that both increase the risk of addiction and are associated with lower educational attainment. This group of genetic variants is linked not only to substance use disorders but also to poorer health and socioeconomic outcomes. Together, these findings suggest a genetic connection between addiction and lower educational attainment, though they do not provide enough evidence to determine whether one causes the other.

According to Dr. Judit Cabana-Domínguez, “Although we found consistent evidence of shared genetic variants influencing both risk of addiction and risk of low educational attainment, our study cannot determine whether low educational attainment increases the risk for addiction, whether addiction leads to school difficulties, or whether both are true. Although much research remains, our findings suggest that promoting higher educational attainment may help health systems to improve and implement prevention strategies for substance use disorders.”

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For editors:

This Open Access paper is available on the Wiley Online Library after the embargo has lifted (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.70254) or you may request an early copy from Jean O’Reilly, Editorial Manager, Addiction, jean@addictionjournal.org.

To speak with lead author Dr. Judit Cabana-Domínguez, please contact her at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona by email (comunica@vhir.org) or telephone (+34 934894162).

Full citation for article: Cabana-Domínguez J, Vilar-Ribó L, Soler Artigas M, Alemany S, Llonga N, Carabí-Gassol P, Zubizarreta-Arruti U, Macias-Chimborazoa V, Grau-López L, Daigre C, Ros-Cucurull E, Palma-Alvarez RF, Ortega-Hernández G, Fernàndez-Castillo N, Cormand B, Ramos-Quiroga JA, and Ribasés M. Exploring the genetic overlap between substance use disorder and educational attainment.  Addiction. 2025. DOI: 10.1111/add.70254.

Primary funding:  This work was supported by the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR, 2017SGR-1461, 2021SGR-00840), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (P19/01224, PI20/00041, PI22/00464, PI23/00404 and FI18/00285 to L.V.R, CP22/00128 to M.S.A and CP22/00026 to S.A), the Network Center for Biomedical Research (CIBER) to J.C.D.; the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); the ECNP Network ‘ADHD across the Lifespan’; “la Marató de TV3” (202228-30 and 202228-31), the European Union H2020 Programme (H2020/2014-2020) under grant agreements no. 848228 (DISCOvERIE) and no. 2020604 (TIMESPAN). “Plan Nacional Sobre Drogas” of the Spanish Ministry of Health (PNSD-2020I042) to NF-C, the Spanish “Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades” (PID2021-127776OB-I00 and PID2024-158634OB-I100) and AGAUR-Generalitat de Catalunya (2021-SGR-01093) to NF-C and BC; “la Marató de TV3” (202218-31) and ICREA Academia 2021 to BC.

Declaration of interests: J.A.R.Q was on the speakers’ bureau and/or acted as consultant for Biogen, Janssen-Cilag, Novartis, Shire, Takeda, Bial, Shionogi, Sincrolab, Novartis, BMS, Medice, Rubió, Uriach, Technofarma and Raffo in the last 3 years. He also received travel awards (air tickets + hotel) for taking part in psychiatric meetings from Janssen-Cilag, Rubió, Shire, Takeda, Shionogi, Bial and Medice. The Department of Psychiatry chaired by him received unrestricted educational and research support from the following companies in the last 3 years: Janssen- Cilag, Shire, Oryzon, Roche, Psious, and Rubió. R.F.P.A has received speaker honorariums from Angelini, Casen Recordati, Exeltis, Lundbeck, MSD, Mundipharma, Rubió, Servier, and Takeda. G.O-H has received speaker honorariums from Casen Recordati, Lundbeck and Rubió. ERC has received financial compensation for her participation as a speaker and/or board member from Angelini, Casen Recordati, Esteve, Exeltis, Idorsia, Janssen, Juste, Lilly, Lundbeck, Otsuka, Pfizer, Rovi, Servier. She has received research grants from Acadia, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eisai, HMNC Holding GmbH, Janssen, Lundbeck, Novartis, Otsuka, Roche. All other authors declare no biomedical financial interests or conflicts of interest.

Addiction (www.addictionjournal.org) is a monthly international scientific journal publishing peer-reviewed research reports on alcohol, substances, tobacco, gambling, editorials, and other debate pieces. Owned by the Society for the Study of Addiction, it has been in continuous publication since 1884.