It should be noted that an early drinking onset, the baseline drinking quantity, and FH all had significant univariate effects on AUD occurrence across adulthood; these relations became marginal for FH and early drinking onset after adjusting for all other covariates. This finding is consistent with a wide range of previous studies that have shown each of these risk factors to be related to alcohol use and problems over time (Grant & Dawson, 1997; King & Chassin, 2007; Schuckit et al., 2008a). A younger baseline age predicted AUDs in the early 20’s, which may identify a high-risk subgroup with a rapid onset of alcohol problems even after indirectly controlling for the duration of the drinking career with the age of onset covariate, while an older baseline age predicted AUDs in the late 40’s and 50’s, which may reflect a smaller subgroup at risk for AUDs due to late-life consequences associated with longer drinking careers. Body mass index (reflecting a standardized weight to height ratio) was not associated with the AUD onset, which may reflect the fact that original alcohol dose was based on weight and the two major risk groups (based on FH) were matched on height to weight ratio.
