Alcoholic and community probands and their families were recruited and tested as part of the national multi-site COGA. Alcoholic probands were recruited from inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities; all participants were administered the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA) (Bucholz et al. 1994; Hesselbrock et al. 1999), and alcoholic subjects met criteria for alcohol dependence (DSM-IV). Data from the six COGA collection sites were included in the analysis: SUNY Downstate Medical Center at Brooklyn, New York; University of Connecticut Health Science Center; Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; University of California at San Diego; University of Iowa, and Indiana University School of Medicine. Recruitment and assessment procedures have been outlined previously (Begleiter et al. 1995; Foroud et al. 2000; Nurnberger et al. 2004; Reich et al. 1998) and are available at zork.wustl.edu/niaaa/coga_instruments/resources.html. Institutional review boards at each site approved the research protocols in the COGA study and written consent was obtained from each individual before participation.
