colleagues also reported similar genetic differences among AUD (measured as AUDIT-P) and alcohol consumption (measured as AUDIT-C)[61]. In this meta-analysis (UKBiobank and 23andMe), AUDIT-P score showed a strong genetic correlation with alcohol dependence (PGC-SUD GWAS), while AUDIT-C score showed stronger genetic correlation with alcohol consumption[61]. Although, these genetics differences were not as apparent in African Americans in a recent large GWAS of AUD and AUDIT-C on individuals from Million Veteran Program (MVP)[62]. This GWAS reported many overlapping variants for AUDIT-C and AUD, with moderate-to-high genetic correlation between these traits (0.522 in EAs and 0.930 in AAs). Despite the significant genetic overlap between the AUDIT-C and AUD diagnosis, downstream analyses of MVP data revealed biologically meaningful points of divergence. Kranzler and colleagues[62] found that the polygenic risk score (PRS) calculated from AUD GWAS was significantly associated with tobacco use and multiple psychiatric disorders, whereas the AUDIT-C PRS did not show any association with these traits. These findings further confirmed that the AUD and alcohol consumption (measured by AUDIT-C in MVP) are genetically related but very distinct phenotypes.
