The ‘common underlying liability’ model and e-cigarettes

The study on the slide calculated polygenic risk scores (PRS) from a large UK dataset, and used logistic regression analysis to assess whether the association between self-reported smoking initiation and e-cigarette use could be explained by the PRS for smoking initiation.^[2] The findings indicated that young people who are likely to experiment with cigarettes are also likely to experiment with e-cigarettes – implying a common underlying liability.^[2] These PRS data is are line with earlier studies, including one study that used PRS for smoking and cannabis-use traits, and used these to predict e-cigarette- and pipe-use phenotypes.^[1,3] This study found genetic vulnerability to smoking heaviness was associated with lifetime e-cigarette use.^[3]

References:
[1] Hall W, Chan G. The “gateway” effect of e-cigarettes may be explained by a genetic liability to risk-taking. PLoS Med 2021; 18 (3): e1003554.

[2] Khouja JN, Wootton RE, Taylor AE, et al. Association of genetic liability to smoking initiation with e-cigarette use in young adults: a cohort study. PLoS Med 2021; 18 (3): e1003555.

[3] Allegrini AG, Verweij KJH, Abdellaoui A, et al.; International Cannabis Consortium, Vink JM. Genetic vulnerability for smoking and cannabis use: associations with e-cigarette and water pipe use. Nicotine Tob Res 2019; 21 (6): 723–730.