In contrast to candidate gene studies, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) scan the entire genome for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with a given trait in a more data driven, a theoretical approach. They have become a preferred tool in gene identification studies since they do not require a priori knowledge of the underlying biology of the outcome of interest. Search results from the NHGRI-EBI Catalog of published genome-wide association studies yield 26 GWAS studies focusing on alcohol-related phenotypes published since 2009. Of the 26 published GWAS studies, only four studies contained samples of AA respondents.
