Genetic variant

rs1229984 a variant in the ADH1B gene

rs1229984 is a single-letter difference in the ADH1B gene, on chromosome 4. ClinVar, the public archive of variant interpretations, lists it as protective: linked to a lower chance of a condition. It has been reported in connection with Aerodigestive tract cancer, squamous cell, alcohol-related, protection against and Alcohol dependence. Carrying it does not, on its own, mean you have or will develop any condition.

What is this?

Your DNA is a long sequence of four letters. At a few million positions, people commonly differ by a single letter; each of those positions is called a SNP (“snip”), and rs1229984 is the catalogue number of one of them, in the ADH1B gene. Which letters you carry there — one copy from each parent — is your genotype.

ADH1B (alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (class I), beta polypeptide): The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the alcohol dehydrogenase family. Members of this enzyme family metabolize a wide variety of substrates, including ethanol, retinol, other aliphatic alcohols, hydroxysteroids, and lipid peroxidation products.

Gene description from NCBI Gene

A SNP in rs1229984 encodes a form of the alcohol dehydrogenase ADH1B gene that significantly reduces...

From SNPedia

Why might it matter?

ClinVar records this variant as protective, meaning linked to a lower chance of a condition. A classification describes the variant, not you: what it means for one person depends on their genotype, their family history and often on other genes and circumstances.

Conditions it has been reported with

Listed in ClinVar submissions for this variant. Being listed is a report of an association, not a statement that the variant causes the condition in any given person.

Do I have this variant?

If you have taken a consumer DNA test (23andMe, AncestryDNA and similar), you can download its raw data file and check. Create a free account, upload the file, and this page will show the letters you carry at rs1229984, if your test read this position.

Connect this with your blood results

A gene is a fixed instruction; a blood test shows what your body is doing now. CheckMyBloods reads the two side by side, so a variant can be set against the markers it could plausibly affect.

Blood markers do not diagnose a genetic condition, and a variant does not explain a blood result on its own. Together, with symptoms and family history, they give a clinician context.

What should I do next?

  1. Find out whether you carry it. Reading about a variant says nothing about you until you know your genotype.
  2. Put it in context. Add your blood results, so the variant can be read against what your body is doing.
  3. Ask questions. Dr. Hemsworth, our AI assistant, can explain this variant and your results in plain English.
  4. Take anything that worries you to a professional. A GP or genetic counsellor can order a confirmatory test and interpret it with your history.

This page is general information drawn from public research databases. It cannot diagnose anything, and it is not a substitute for advice from a doctor or genetic counsellor who knows your history.

Technical details

dbSNP ID
rs1229984
Gene
ADH1B
Position
chr4:99318162
ClinVar classification
protective

Genome-wide association studies (20)

TraitRisk alleleOR / betaP-valueStudy
Drinks per week C β 0.082 5E-324 PubMed
Alcohol consumption (drinks per week) C OR 0.15 2E-308 PubMed
Drinks per week C OR 0.19 6E-284 PubMed
Alcohol consumption (drinks per week) (MTAG) C OR 0.15 7E-280 PubMed
Problematic alcohol use (MTAG) C OR 0.24 6E-267 PubMed
Alcohol consumption (drinks per month) (UKB data field 1578, 4424) T OR 0.23 4E-248 PubMed
Alcohol-related disorders (PheCode 317) T OR 0.61 6E-239 PubMed
Alcohol use disorder (consumption score) T OR 32.3 7E-229 PubMed
Alcohol-related disorders (PheCode 317) T OR 0.54 5E-220 PubMed
Alcohol consumption (drinks per week) T OR 0.23 8E-202 PubMed
Alcoholism (PheCode 317.1) T OR 0.65 8E-185 PubMed
Alcoholism (PheCode 317.1) T OR 0.57 8E-183 PubMed
Problematic alcohol use (MTAG) — OR 0.22 2E-182 PubMed
Maximum habitual alcohol consumption (MTAG) — OR 0.19 3E-176 PubMed
Alcohol consumption (drinks per week) C OR 0.25 2E-173 PubMed
Alcohol use disorder (consumption score) T OR 0.58 7E-173 PubMed
Alcohol use disorder T OR 27.11 7E-162 PubMed
Drinks per week C OR 0.14 2E-157 PubMed
Bitter alcoholic beverage consumption C β 0.082 2E-140 PubMed
Alcohol use disorder T OR 0.56 1E-131 PubMed

Sources