BACKGROUND:The genetic mechanisms regulating intracranial aneurysm (IA) formation and rupture are largely unknown. To identify germline-genetic risk factors for IA, we perform a multinational genome-wide association study (GWAS) of individuals from the United Kingdom, Finland, and Japan.OBJECTIVE:To identify a shared, multinational genetic basis of IA.METHODS:Using GWAS summary statistics from UK Biobank, FinnGen, and Biobank Japan, we perform a meta-analysis of IA, containing ruptured and unruptured IA cases. Logistic regression was used to identify IA-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Effect size was calculated using the coefficient r, estimating the contribution of the single-nucleotide polymorphism to the genetic variance of the trait. Genome-wide significance was set at 5.0 × 10−8. Expression quantitative trait loci mapping and functional genomics approaches were used to infer mechanistic consequences of implicated variants.RESULTS:Our cohort contained 155 154 individuals (3132 IA cases and 152 022 controls). We identified 4 genetic loci reaching genome-wide: rs73392700 (SIRT3, effect size = 0.28, P = 4.3 × 10−12), rs58721068 (EDNRA, effect size = −0.20, P = 4.8 × 10−12), rs4977574 (AL359922.1, effect size = 0.18, P = 7.9 × 10−12), and rs11105337 (ATP2B1, effect size = −0.15, P = 3.4 × 10−8). Expression quantitative trait loci mapping suggests that rs73392700 has a large effect size on SIRT3 gene expression in arterial and muscle, but not neurological, tissues. Functional genomics analysis suggests that rs73392700 causes decreased SIRT3 gene expression.CONCLUSION:We perform a multinational GWAS of IA and identify 4 genetic risk loci, including 2 novel IA risk loci (SIRT3 and AL359922.1). Identification of high-risk genetic loci across ancestries will enable population-genetic screening approaches to identify patients with IA.