Alcohol dependence (AD) is extremely costly to individuals and to society in the US and throughout the world, in terms of morbidity, mortality, and financial burden. Genetic factors are important determinants of the development of AD, as established by twin, family, and adoption studies, with most studies settling on heritability in a range of 0.50–0.60 e.g. (1–3). Numerous other traits related to AD, such as alcohol intake, are themselves heritable (4). However, all studies establishing the basic parameters of heritability for AD have focused on subjects of non-African ancestry, most on subjects of European ancestry. Epidemiologic data show that rates of alcohol use, abuse, and dependence are all somewhat lower in African-Americans (AAs) than in European-Americans (EAs); for AD, the lifetime rates are 13.8% for EAs and 8.4% for AAs (5) Substantial progress has been made in mapping and identifying genes in EA, and to some extent in Native American, populations. It cannot be assumed that the same factors are important in AAs.
