Maternal Exposure to Alcohol and Low Birthweight: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objective To investigate the relationship between maternal exposure to alcohol and low birthweight (LBW). Methods The literature search was performed in January 2017 using the following electronic databases: Medline, Embase, LILACS, SciELO, Web of Science, Scopus, CINHAL, Proquest, and PsychInfo. The search strategy used the following terms: alcohol drinking, binge drinking, alcohol-related disorders, alcoholism, alcohol addiction/use/abuse/consumption, light/moderate/social/low drinking, low birthweight, case-control studies, retrospective studies, and cohort studies. No restrictions regarding language or publication date were considered. The literature search yielded 2,383 articles, and after screening and eligibility assessment, 39 articles were included in the systematic review, and 38 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Results Maternal alcohol consumption was associated with LBW among retrospective cohort studies (relative risk [RR] = 1.37; 95%CI [confidence interval]:1.10–1.77; I2 = 98.4%; p < 0.01). Prospective cohort studies (RR = 1.11; 95%CI: 0.98–1.25; I2 = 81.5%; p < 0.01), and case-control studies (odds ration [OR] = 1.16; 95%CI: 0.68–1.97; I2 = 61.2%; p = 0.05) showed no association between alcohol and LBW. No publication bias was identified, and the meta-regression showed that the sample size influenced the high heterogeneity among retrospective cohort studies. The subgroup analysis showed differences in association between groups when compared by sample size, type of adjustment, or crude measures and publication year. Conclusions We have not found an association between alcohol consumption during gestation and LBW in the analysis in all of the subgroups. In addition, we have found a high heterogeneity between the primary studies, which is related to methodological differences in the conduction of these studies.

Insights into Prevention of Health Complications in Small for Gestational Age (SGA) Births in Relation to Maternal Characteristics: A Narrative Review

“…Preventive strategies were divided into the 10 following categories: midwifery care, health promotion programs for smoking cessation, alcohol reduction during pregnancy, folic acid, vitamin D, iron, and zinc supplementation, a well-balanced diet, COVID-19 vaccination and cannabis use during pregnancy. The most significant and high-quality publications focusing on preventive strategies [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ] are summarized in Table 1 .…”

“…In retrospective cohort studies Pereira et al found that an alcohol intake during pregnancy appears to be associated with a lower birth weight. However, in prospective cohort studies and case-control studies the association between maternal exposure to alcohol and birth weight was not observed [ 32 ].…”

Faktor risiko kejadian berat bayi lahir rendah di RSUP Sanglah, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

“…29 Penting untuk diingat bahwa data terkait variabel perilaku merokok dan konsumsi alkohol bersifat subjektif dan berkaitan dengan keterbukaan individu. 30…”

Sigcccap

“…En particular, Pérez et al (2018), comentan que, los factores del estilo de vida, como el consumo de tabaco y alcohol durante el embarazo, aumentan el riesgo de bajo peso al nacer, parto prematuro y mortalidad perinatal. Además, según Lindell et al (2018), los problemas de peso materno, la obesidad, la diabetes gestacional y la falta de suplementos de ácido fólico se asociaron con un mayor riesgo de preeclampsia, defectos neurológicos, cardíacos y orofaciales, alto peso al nacer y muerte fetal.…”