To conclude, our fairly large cohort-based material (503 individuals with diagnosis of alcohol dependence or abuse and their 506 age- and sex-matched controls) does not support any association between the OPRM1 A118G polymorphism and alcohol dependence. Neither was there an association between the polymorphism and alcohol consumption in any of the three study cohorts. Our results thus fail to clarify the seemingly controversial situation with accumulating proof indicating that OPRM1 A118G polymorphism modifies alcohol-seeking behavior in experimental settings and moderates pharmacological and therapeutic responses, yet does not appear to be associated with risk of developing the alcohol use disorders in molecular epidemiological studies.
