Alcohol exposure in utero and functional deficits in children during the first four years of life

Abstract

The behavioural effects of varying amounts of alcohol exposure in utero were studied using a longitudinal prospective design. An unselected sample of 1529 pregnant women was interviewed in the fifth month of pregnancy regarding beverage consumption, diet, drug use, and socioeconomic background; a cohort of approximately 500 infants was selected at delivery for follow-up. Lengthy individual behavioural and anthropometric examinations were made of the children between birth and four years of age. Alcohol-related behavioural effects are still statistically significant at four years, as they were at birth and eight months, even after adjustment for variables such as maternal smoking, drug use and diet, education, birth order and family stress. Habituation, sucking pressure and latency to suck are some of the behaviours most affected on days 1 and 2, while reaction time, attention and response latency are most affected at four years. Thus alcohol exposure in utero appears to affect the speed and accuracy of information-processing in the offspring. The findings support a dose-response rather than a threshold effect on most of these behavioural outcomes. However, increased risk of a clinically suspect or abnormal child occurs only at the heavier drinking levels. Examination of the cohort of 500 children at seven years of age is under way.