Lack of an association between SNPs within the cholinergic receptor genes and smoking behavior in a Czech post-MONICA study

Smoking has a significant heritable component of approximately 30-60%. Recent genome wide association studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the nicotinic cholinergic receptor subunits 3 (rs578776), 5 (rs16969968) and β3 (rs6474412), which are associated with nicotine dependence in Western European populations. To analyze the association in a Czech population, we genotyped 1,191 males and 1,368 females (post-MONICA study). The WHO protocol was used to examine smoking status and the number of cigarettes smoked per day. There were 32.1% current and 27.6% past smok...