As a related limitation, alcohol consumption and harmful drinking patterns are known to be highest within our sample population of 18–22 year old university students with a marked decrease thereafter.59, 60 Thus, it is unclear whether problem drinking assessed at this developmental stage translates into subsequent AUD diagnosis in adulthood. Some studies, however, suggest that drinking patterns observed in college may be predictive of alcohol-related problems later in life.5, 6 Furthermore, the fact that we were able to predict the relationship between stress and problem drinking three months following study completion lends credibility to the potential utility of our neural risk phenotypes as predictors of future alcohol-related outcomes. Tracking individuals over longer periods of time would be helpful in determining the value of these neural phenotypes as predictors of long-term risk for the emergence and persistence of AUD. Gathering pertinent information from high school records or assessments and continuing to follow individuals throughout their university years and beyond could be a particularly informative and feasible strategy to implement.
