The values of liability-scale h2 of AUD of 12.4% (in LA) to 16.2% (in AFR) can be explained by the current study. Accounting for more of the heritability of a complex trait depends on the genetic architectures of the trait and the power of the study samples. For example, in a whole-genome sequencing study of height, the SNP heritability of height was estimated to be 0.68 (s.e. 0.1), which is close to the pedigree estimates of 0.7–0.8 (ref. 48). This is probably due in part to the accuracy with which height is measured and its relative stability once adulthood is reached, and rare variants, in particular those in regions of low LD, that are a major source of the still-missing heritability. A whole-genome sequencing study is warranted to increase our knowledge of the heritability and to identify rare variants contributing to risk for PAU/AUD.
