Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Feb;25(2):93-100.
doi: 10.1038/sj.jp.7211214.

Mortality risk associated with perinatal drug and alcohol use in California

Ellen L Wolfe  1 , Thomas Davis, Joseph Guydish, Kevin L Delucchi
Affiliations

Mortality risk associated with perinatal drug and alcohol use in California

Ellen L Wolfe et al. J Perinatol. 2005 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the relationship between perinatal drug/alcohol use and maternal, fetal, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality.

Study design: Linked California discharge, birth and death certificate data from 1991-1998 were used to identify drug/alcohol-diagnosed births. Mortality relative risk (RR) ratios were calculated and logistic models were generated for mortality outcomes.

Results: Among 4,536,701 birth records, 1.20% contained drug/alcohol discharge diagnostic codes (n=54,290). The unadjusted RRs for maternal (RR=2.7), fetal (RR=1.3), neonatal (RR=2.4), and postneonatal (RR=4.3) mortality were increased for drug/alcohol-diagnosed births. After controlling for potential confounding, the odds of maternal death for cocaine use (OR=2.15) remained significant as did amphetamine (OR=1.77), cocaine (OR=1.43), polydrug (OR=2.01) and other drug/alcohol use (OR=1.79) for postneonatal mortality.

Conclusions: The association of cocaine use with maternal mortality and any drug/alcohol use with postneonatal mortality supports screening and identifying women using illicit drugs and alcohol during pregnancy. Increased collaboration with drug treatment programs and closer follow-up for drug-using women and their children may improve mortality outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Addis A, Moretti M, Syed F, Einarson T, Koren G. Fetal effects of cocaine: an updated meta-analysis. Reprod Toxicol. 2001;15:341–69. - PubMed
    1. Panting-Kemp A, Nguyen T, Castro L. Substance use and polyhydramnios. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2002;187(3):602–5. - PubMed
    1. Kelley S, Walsh J, Thompson K. Birth outcomes, health problems, and neglect with prenatal exposure to cocaine. Pediatr Nurs. 1991;17(2):130–6. - PubMed
    1. Handler A, Kistin N, Davis F, Ferre C. Cocaine use during pregnancy: perinatal outcomes. Am J Epidemiol. 1991;133(8):818–25. - PubMed
    1. Armstrong M, Lieberman L, Carpenter D, et al. Early start: an obstetric clinic-based, perinatal substance abuse intervention program. Qual Manag Health Care. 2001;9(2):6–15. - PubMed

Publication types