explored the relationship between the gene cluster CHRNA5/CHRNA3, which encode the alpha5 and alpha3 subunits of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and were found to have a strong association with smoking (p ​< ​0.001), and the risk of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) (Yang et al., 2019). The gene discussed is CHRNA3; the disease is lumbar disc herniation.