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New research: alcohol and pregnancy
6 October 2010
Links:
bmj.com/content/early/2010/09/13/jech.2009.103002.abstract" target="_self">Research paper
Light drinking during pregnancy does not
harm a young child's behavioural or intellectual development, according
to new research
led by Dr Yvonne Kelly (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health) and
published online today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community
Health.
A
previous study in 2008 by Dr Kelly and colleagues of 3 year olds drew
similar conclusions, but the authors wanted
to rule out possible delayed "sleeper" effects in older children.
They
used data from the Millennium Cohort Study - a large study tracking the
long
term health of children born in the UK - drawing on a representative
sample of
11,513 children born between September 2000 and January
2002.
Participants' mothers were interviewed in person
about their
drinking patterns while pregnant and other social and economic factors
likely to
have an impact on a child's development, when their children were aged
just 9
months.
There are no widely agreed criteria on how to categorise
patterns
of alcohol consumption, but the authors chose those outlined in the
government's
National Alcohol Strategy.
The mothers were classified as
teetotal; those
who drank but not in pregnancy; light (1 or 2 units a week or at any one
time);
moderate (3 to 6 units a week or 3 to 5 at any one time); and
binge/heavy (7 or
more units a week or 6 at one sitting).
The mums were quizzed
about their
children's behaviour at the age of 3, and then their behavioural and
intellectual development were formally assessed at the age of 5.
Just
under 6 per cent of the mums never drank, while 60 per cent chose to
abstain just for the period
of their pregnancy. Around one in four (just under 26 per cent) said
they were light
drinkers. One in 20 (5.5 per cent) were moderate drinkers and 2.5 per
cent were heavy or binge
drinkers during their pregnancy.
Across the entire sample, boys
were more
likely than girls to have more developmental problems, overall. And they
were
more likely to have behavioural issues, be hyperactive, and have issues
with
their peers. Girls were more likely to have emotional issues.
Girls
achieved higher average scores than the boys on their cognitive
abilities -
measured by a vocabulary test, pinpointing visual similarities, and
making
patterns.
Children whose mothers were heavy drinkers were more
likely to
be hyperactive, and have behavioural and emotional problems than
children whose
mothers chose not to drink during pregnancy.
But there was no
evidence to
suggest that the behavioural or intellectual development of children
whose mums
were light drinkers during the pregnancy had been compromised.
Children
born to light drinkers were 30 per cent less likely to have behavioural
problems than
children whose mothers did not drink during pregnancy.
After
taking
account of a wide range of influential factors, these children achieved
higher
cognitive scores than those whose mums had abstained from alcohol while
pregnant.
The Millennium Cohort Study was commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), whose funding has been supplemented by a consortium of Government departments and the Wellcome Trust.
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UCL context
UCL Epidemiology & Public Health aims to develop a better understanding of health and prevention of ill health through vigorous research and the development of research methodology. This knowledge is applied via undergraduate and graduate teaching, contributions to national and international health policy and contributions to the wider public understanding on health.
