Alcohol dependence (AD) is a disorder characterized by compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcohol despite its negative effects on the drinker’s health, relationships and social standing. Family, adoption, twin and sibling studies have consistently shown that AD is moderately heritable (Goldman et al., 2005). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a number of putative risk loci (Edenberg et al., 2010, Gelernter et al., 2014, Schumann et al., 2011, Zuo et al., 2013b, Frank et al., 2012, Treutlein et al., 2009, Adkins et al., 2015) for populations of European ancestry, the focus of this study. However, only a few loci have replicated (Gelernter et al., 2014, Schumann et al., 2011) and these replicated variants only explain a small proportion of AD risk.
