Drinking the same amount as your partner? It’s in the genes

THE reason why we tend to end up with a partner who drinks as often as we do may be in our genes, scienti sts say.

It is known that couples tend to have genetic similarities when it comes to height or intelligence. But research shows that someone with additional copies of a specific gene linked to alcohol consumption is more likely to have a partner with extra copies too.

It may help explain why those who drink frequently are six times more likely to have a partner with similar habits, and people who never drink are 13 times more likely to end up with another teetotaller. The University of Bristol study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, used data on more than 45,000 couples from the UK Biobank genetic database and is reported in New Scientist magazine.

It concludes that a ‘substantial proportion’ of the shared drinking habits of couples may be down to genes that influence how much we drink and how it affects us. Study leader Laurence Howe said: ‘This suggests that alcohol consumption directly influences mate choice.’