Pharmacotherapies for AUD in ethnic minority populations represent an important line of research in view of the reported disparities in the use of alcohol treatment services and the differences in alcohol consumption and consequences from alcohol use across ethnic groups (for review see17). A recent longitudinal study conducted by Mulia et al. examined disparities in the use of alcohol treatment services. The authors compared six different racial-ethnic groups (European Americans, African Americans, US born Hispanics, immigrant Hispanics, East Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and American Indians1) on odds of receiving an alcohol intervention during a four-year period and found that minorities (n=3,219) had significantly lower odds of receiving treatment compared to European Americans (OR=0.62). Individually, US born Hispanics (OR=0.38) and immigrant Hispanics (OR=0.13) both had significantly lower odds of receiving an alcohol intervention during the four-year period compared to European Americans. Interestingly, after adjusting for demographics and drinking-related variables, the differences between European Americans and ethnic minorities became stronger in statistical significance. Given ethnic disparities in alcohol-related problems and access to effective treatments,17 consideration of ethnic background in clinical trials
