Excessive alcohol use creates many serious physical, emotional, and social problems and is responsible for about 3 million deaths worldwide each year.1 Many deaths in the United States result from alcohol use disorder (AUD) (nccd.cdc.gov/DPH_ARDI). AUD is a serious and common psychiatric disorder that is characterized by excessive alcohol consumption and consequent psychological and interpersonal problems stemming from preoccupation with and a loss of control over drinking.2 The risk of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD) depends on both genetic and environmental factors. While recent large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of variants associated with alcohol consumption3,4 and AUD5-7 it is not yet clear how these variants contribute to AUD.
