The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Some Maternal Characteristics

Pierog, Sophie; Chandavasu, Oradee; Wexler, Irving B.

doi:10.1002/j.1879-3479.1979.tb00476.x

Cited by 26 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…These variables, however, have rarely been studied simultaneously in nonclinic populations. Rather, passive case ascertainment methods are commonly used with existing data sources that are frequently incomplete and selective (Chavez et al, 1988;Little et al, 1990;Pierog et al, 1979). The proactive methodology used in South Africa has yielded rich epidemiological data useful for prevention.…”

Section: Comparison Of These Findings With Those Of Other Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fetal alcohol syndrome epidemiology in a South African community: a second study of a very high prevalence area.

et al. 2005

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ABSTRACT. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in a second primary school cohort in a community in South Africa. Method: Active case ascertainment, two-tier screening, and Institute of Medicine assessment methodology were employed among 857 first grade pupils, most born in 1993. Characteristics of children with FAS were contrasted with characteristics of a randomly selected control group from the same classrooms. Physical growth and development, dysmorphology and psychological characteristics of the children and measures of maternal alcohol use and smoking were analyzed. Results: The rate of FAS found in this study is the highest yet reported in any overall community in the world, 65.2-74.2 per 1,000 children in the first grade population. These rates are 33-148 times greater than U.S. estimates and higher than in a previous cohort study in this same community (40.5-46.4 per 1,000). Detailed documentation of physical features indicates that FAS children in South Africa have characteristics similar to those elsewhere: poor growth and development, facial and limb dysmorphology, and lower intellectual functioning. Frequent, severe episodic drinking of beer and wine is common among mothers and fathers of FAS children. Their lives are characterized by serious familial, social and economic challenges, compared with controls. Heavy episodic maternal drinking is significantly associated with negative outcomes of children in the area of nonverbal intelligence but even more so in verbal intelligence, behavior and overall dysmorphology (physical anomalies). Significantly more FAS exists among children of women who were rural residents (odds ratio: 7.36, 95% confidence interval: 3.31-16.52), usually among workers on local farms. Conclusion: A high rate of FAS was documented in this community. Given social and economic similarities and racial admixture, we suspect that other communities in the Western Cape have rates that also are quite high. (J. Stud. Alcohol 66: [593][594][595][596][597][598][599][600][601][602][603][604] 2005)

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Section: Comparison Of These Findings With Those Of Other Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fetal alcohol syndrome epidemiology in a South African community: a second study of a very high prevalence area.

et al. 2005

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“…Heavy drinking at any time throughout the pregnancy can cause neurodevelopmental, intellectual, and behavioral problems [West and Goodlett, 1990;Pierce and West, 1986;Abel, 1995]. High blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) cause many symptoms of FAS, making heavy, sporadic drinking a prime risk factor [Pierog et al, 1979;Maier and West, 2001;Viljoen et al, 2002;Kvigne et al, 2003].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol consumption and other maternal risk factors for fetal alcohol syndrome among three distinct samples of women before, during, and after pregnancy: The risk is relative

May

Gossage²,

White-Country³

et al. 2004

American J of Med Genetics Pt C

100

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Data were obtained from three samples of women of childbearing age. One sample of women is from prenatal clinics serving Plains Indian women. The second sample is of women from the Plains whose children were referred to special diagnostic developmental clinics, as their children were believed to have developmental issues consistent with prenatal alcohol consumption. The third sample is of women from South Africa, each of whom has given birth to a child diagnosed with full fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Data across samples conform to expected trends on many variables. For example, the maternal age at time of pregnancy, a major risk factor for FAS, ranged from a mean of 23.5 years for the prenatal clinic sample, to 23.8 years for the developmental clinic sample, to 27.6 for the sample of women who have delivered children with FAS. Other variables of maternal risk for FAS expected from the extant literature, such as high gravidity and parity, binge drinking, heavy intergenerational drinking in the mother's extended family and immediate social network, and length of drinking career, were compared across the three samples with variable results. However, normative measures of drinking problems are unreliable when reported across cultures. An unexpected finding from this three-sample comparison was the differential risk found when comparing U.S. women to South African women. Women in the U.S. Plains Indian samples report a high consumption of alcohol in a binge pattern of drinking, yet there is less detectable damage to the fetus than among the South African women. Body mass index (BMI) and lifelong and current nutrition may have a substantial impact, along with the above factors, in relative risk for an FAS birth. The level of risk for producing a child with FAS is influenced by environmental and behavioral conditions that vary between populations and among individual women. Also, because many syndromes are genetically based, there is a need for full behavioral and genetic histories of the mother, family, and child being studied. Collecting extensive behavioral information as well as genetic histories will provide the requisite information for making an accurate diagnosis of FAS.

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“…Multiple maternal co-factors of risk for FASD have been identified. 3,17,20,30,31 Maternal risk has been found to vary in individual women based on childbearing variables such as: maternal age, gravidity, and parity. 8,9,32-35 Older women who frequently drink larger quantities of alcohol in an episodic fashion, who have been pregnant more (gravidity), and have had more children (parity), are more likely to bear a child with an FASD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Factors Predicting Cognitive and Behavioral Characteristics of Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

May

Tabachnick

Gossage

et al. 2013

Journal of Developmental &Amp; Behavioral Pediatrics

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Objective To provide an analysis of multiple predictors of cognitive and behavioral traits for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Method Multivariate correlation techniques were employed with maternal and child data from epidemiologic studies in a community in South Africa. Data on 561 first grade children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), partial FAS (PFAS), and not FASD and their mothers were analyzed by grouping 19 maternal variables into categories (physical, demographic, childbearing, and drinking) and employed in structural equation models (SEM) to assess correlates of child intelligence (verbal and non-verbal) and behavior. Results A first SEM utilizing only seven maternal alcohol use variables to predict cognitive/behavioral traits was statistically significant (B = 3.10, p < .05), but explained only 17.3% of the variance. The second model incorporated multiple maternal variables and was statistically significant explaining 55.3% of the variance. Significantly correlated with low intelligence and problem behavior were demographic (B = 3.83, p < .05) (low maternal education, low socioeconomic status (SES), and rural residence) and maternal physical characteristics (B = 2.70, p < .05) (short stature, small head circumference, and low weight). Childbearing history and alcohol use composites were not statistically significant in the final complex model, and were overpowered by SES and maternal physical traits. Conclusions While other analytic techniques have amply demonstrated the negative effects of maternal drinking on intelligence and behavior, this highly-controlled analysis of multiple maternal influences reveals that maternal demographics and physical traits make a significant enabling or disabling contribution to child functioning in FASD.

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The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Some Maternal Characteristics

Cited by 26 publications

References 7 publications

Fetal alcohol syndrome epidemiology in a South African community: a second study of a very high prevalence area.

Fetal alcohol syndrome epidemiology in a South African community: a second study of a very high prevalence area.

Alcohol consumption and other maternal risk factors for fetal alcohol syndrome among three distinct samples of women before, during, and after pregnancy: The risk is relative

Maternal Factors Predicting Cognitive and Behavioral Characteristics of Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

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