Although the overall number of subjects was modest for a GWAS, the sample studied here had extensive phenotypic characterization and a strong contrast in substance dependence between affected and unaffected subjects. The affected subjects all met DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence, whereas the controls did not meet criteria for alcohol dependence or abuse or harmful use, nor were they dependent on other illicit drugs. Many of the affected subjects (56.5%) were also dependent upon an illicit drug; while it is possible that risk for a more general substance dependence contributed to the association signal, testing for this was not judged to be feasible, given the sample size and reduction in power that would result. None of the SNPs tested met conventional criteria for genome-wide significance, probably due to the modest size of the sample. Therefore, it was important to use other lines of evidence to prioritize potential candidates. Regions in which several SNPs provided evidence for association were found. Evidence of association, with similar estimates of effect size (odds ratios), was found for many SNPs when the sample of alcohol
