Family studies, twin studies and GWAS have all reiterated the heritability of AUD. For decades, a family history of AUD, which is associated with both genetic and environmental risk, has been used to assess AUD liability. However, accurate family history information may not be available for a variety of reasons. In this study of a large sample enriched for AUD risk, COGA, AUD cases in the full sample, as well as in the subsamples of family history positive (FH+) and family history unknown (FH?) individuals, cases had significantly higher PRS than controls, and individuals with higher DSM-5 AUD diagnostic criteria count had significantly higher PRS. Individuals having high PRS had greater odds of having AUD in the full sample and in the FH+ subsample. PRS were also significantly associated with AUD severity in the full sample, FH+, and FH? subsamples. In addition, PRS were still significant after adjusting for family history. Together, these comparisons demonstrated that family history of AUD assesses part of the genetic risk for AUD, and family history and PRS can be used together to assess the risk for AUD.
