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
. 2022 Jun;43(3):297-316.
doi: 10.1007/s10935-021-00658-9. Epub 2022 Feb 5.

The Universal and Primary Prevention of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD): A Systematic Review

Britta Jacobsen  1   2 , Christina Lindemann  3   4 , Rainer Petzina  4 , Uwe Verthein  3
Affiliations

The Universal and Primary Prevention of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD): A Systematic Review

Britta Jacobsen et al. J Prev (2022). 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) comprises multiple neurodevelopmental disorders caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy. With a global prevalence rate of 7.7 per 1000 population, FASD is a leading cause of prenatal developmental disorders. The extent of physical, mental, and social consequences for individuals with FASD can be vast and negatively affect their social environment, daily life, school, relationships, and work. As treatment for FASD is labour- and cost-intensive, with no cure available, prevention is key in reducing FASD prevalence rates. As most systematic reviews conducted so far have focused on specific FASD risk groups, we investigated the effectiveness of universal FASD prevention and primary preventive strategies. We identified a total of 567 potentially pertinent records through PubMed, Cochrane Library, EBSCO, PubPsych, and DAHTA published from 2010 to May 2020, of which 10 studies were included in this systematic review. Results showed a substantial heterogeneity in the studies' quality, although all preventive measures, except one, proved effective in both increasing knowledge and awareness of FASD, as well as decreasing the risk of an alcohol exposed pregnancy. Limiting factors such as small sample sizes and a lack of behavioural change testing require further studies to support existing evidence for FASD prevention and its implementation, as well as detecting the best course of action for FASD prevention when creating and implementing prevention and intervention approaches.

Keywords: Alcohol consumption; Alcohol exposed risk groups; Foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD); Pregnancy; Primary prevention; Universal prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

BJ, CL and RP declare that they have no conflict of interest. UV received speaker’s honoraria and travel expenses from Mundipharma and an unrestricted grant and travel expenses from Camurus.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of systematic review process. Note. Prisma 2009 Flow Diagram from Moher et al. (2009). aExclusion reasons (multiple): efficacy of preventions not measured (n = 7), guideline (n = 1), exclusion criteria (n = 5), focus not on FASD (n = 4). bTwo full-text articles presented the same study and were combined for assessment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abel EL. Fetal alcohol syndrome in families. Neurotoxicology and Teratology. 1988;10(1):1–2. doi: 10.1016/0892-0362(88)90060-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bailey BA, Sokol RJ. Prenatal alcohol exposure and miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm delivery, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Alcohol Research & Health. 2011;34(1):86–91. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Balachova T, Bonner BL, Chaffin M, Isurina G, Shapkaitz V, Tsvetkova L, Volkova E, Grandilevskaya I, Skitnevskaya L, Knowlton N. Brief FASD prevention intervention: Physicians' skills demonstrated in a clinical trial in Russia. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice. 2013;8(1):1. doi: 10.1186/1940-0640-8-1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Balachova T, Sobell LC, Agrawal S, Isurina G, Tsvetkova L, Volkova E, Bohora S. Using a single binge drinking question to identify Russian women at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy. Addictive Behaviors. 2015;46:53–57. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.03.003. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bazzo S, Battistella G, Riscica P, Moino G, Marini F, Bottarel M, Dal Pozzo G, Padovan M. Evaluation of a multilevel and integrated program to raise awareness of the harmful effects of prenatal alcohol exposure in a local community. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 2015;50(6):708–715. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agv051. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types