In an analysis of longitudinal VA EHR data, we used the prevalence of the minor alleles of two functional SNPs in ADH1B—which have been shown in multiple studies to be associated with the risk of AUD ((3, 8, 18)—as a criterion to identify the best phenotype for harmful alcohol use. Because the VA EHR includes both longitudinal AUDIT-C scores and AUD codes, we compared age-adjusted mean AUDIT-C scores, AUDIT-C trajectories, and AUD codes. We found that the association with the ADH1B SNPs was strongest for age-adjusted mean AUDIT-C score in both AAs and EAs. After adjustment for the age-adjusted mean AUDIT-C score, AUD diagnostic codes demonstrated a modest, independent association in both populations.
