The prevalence reported here is likely an underestimate: some number of individuals who currently endorse only one criterion would certainly also endorse a craving criterion, thereby meeting the diagnostic threshold for AUD. However, a recent report on the impact of the changing diagnostic criteria in the NESARC found that only 4.1% of the individuals who endorsed only 1 of the DSM-IV AA or AD criteria (excluding legal problems) in the last 12 months would meet 12-month DSM-5 AUD criteria specifically because they also endorsed craving (Agrawal et al., 2011). Therefore, the underestimate of prevalence in the current report is likely very low. The change in diagnostic criteria will likely disproportionately affect women: 36.4% of the D5-only group (new cases) is female, compared to 24.3% of D4D5; in addition, the female-specific genetic correlation is lower than the sex-common genetic correlation. These sex differences are consistent with another recent report (Agrawal et al., 2011).
