Mothers’ drinking takes a toll
A long-term study on the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure will continue, thanks to a five-year, $2 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The Wayne State study will evaluate a large cohort of children, now 12 1/2 years old, whom researchers have been following since infancy, according to principal investigator Sandra Jacobson, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences. Drs. Joseph Jacobson of the psychology department, and Robert Sokol and Joel Ager Jr. of obstetrics and gynecology are collaborating with Dr. Jacobson on this study. When they last examined these children five years ago, researchers found that even moderate levels of drinking during pregnancy had lasting effects on the children’s memory, social behavior and executive function, which is their ability to coordinate, plan and execute appropriate responses and modify their behavior in response to feedback. The researchers defined moderate drinking as one drink per day, on average. However, they found that most moderate drinkers do not drink daily. Instead, they consume five-six drinks on one or two days per week. For example, they would have five beers on a Saturday night out. The pregnant women in this study were not necessarily alcohol dependent; nonetheless, their drinking behavior places the fetus at risk. “We were particularly interested in the teachers’ reports at 7 1/2 years, which showed a link between prenatal alcohol exposure and the child’s behavioral and attentional problems. We were able to see that, in addition to attention, this exposure also appears to affect the children in terms of aggressive and social problems, even after controlling for the caregiver’s current alcohol use,” Dr. Jacobson noted. They also found that the prenatal exposure was directly tied to aggression and social problems, even after controlling for attentional deficits and hyperactivity. In other words, Dr. Jacobson said, one problem didn’t cause the other; instead, the prenatal exposure appears to contribute independently to both. For the upcoming study, Dr. Jacobson explained, “We’re going to follow up and see which problems persist from 7 1/2 years. What’s happening in terms of the child’s cognitive abilities and behavior? Are there certain kinds of factors that either add risk or buffer against these effects?” In addition to a battery of cognitive, attentional and behavioral assessments, they will conduct a clinical assessment of the children, interview the mothers, and collect information from teachers on the academic and behavioral performance of the children. “This work is important, because this is something that’s preventable. With this information, we can inform women about the risks and the patterns of drinking that place their children at risk. There are women who don’t have a ‘drinking problem’ and don’t realize that their pattern of drinking may place the fetus at risk. We can identify those women who are problem drinkers and need help.” |
