The data presented here were generated from recent interviews with the selected COGA subjects described below, each of whom had given informed consent for future contact. Sample selection for this phase of the study was affected by the limited funding, which precluded extensive evaluations of all COGA participants. Reflecting the major goal for this phase of the work of describing the drinking status of older individuals who had AUDs earlier in life, recruitment was limited to participants whose current age was 50 years and older. Consistent with the plan to begin to search for gene variations potentially related to AUD outcomes, this phase was also limited to individuals for whom DNA samples had been collected in the past. Following these guidelines we identified 663 subjects who met these criteria and were among our final sample of whom 38.8% were original probands with AUDs selected from alcohol treatment programs, 51.6% were probands’ biological relatives (e.g., siblings) with AUDs, 3.5% were spouses with AUDs, and 6.2% were non-biological relatives with AUDs (e,g. in-laws who married into the probands’ families).
