People with blue eyes are at higher risk of alcoholism, according to a new study.

European Americans with blue eyes show the strongest tendency among people of different eye colors to become addicted to alcohol, researchers found.

Genes are responsible for about half the risk for alcoholism, with environmental factors responsible for the remainder, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says.

University of Vermont researchers used a clinical and genetic database of more than 10,000 individuals for their study.

They found that the genetic components that determine eye color are related to genes associated with excessive alcohol use.

The study, published in American Journal of Medical Genetics: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, was the first to make a direct connection between a person's eye color and alcohol dependence risk, the researchers said.