Phosphatidylethanol Levels in Postpartum Women and Their Newborns in Uruguay and Brazil.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing interest in the development of newborn screening tests to identify children at risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in order to provide these children with early intervention. Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) has emerged as a potential universal newborn screening candidate. METHODS: The aim of this report was to present the results of a study designed to compare PEth levels in 1,140 postpartum women and their newborn infants in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Self-report alcohol use during pregnancy data was collected, along with both maternal and newborn dried blood spot samples for PEth analysis. RESULTS: The average age and parity of the women in the sample were 26 years of age and 2.3 pregnancies. For the Uruguay sample (n = 611), 45.8% of postpartum women had PEth levels ≥ 8 ng/ml with a mean positive PEth of 43.6 ng/ml. In contrast, 86.8% of the newborns had PEth levels ≥ 8 ng/ml, with a mean positive PEth of 77.4 ng/ml. For the Brazil sample (n = 529), 33.2% of women had PEth levels ≥ 8 ng/ml with a mean positive PEth of 31 ng/ml. In contrast, 76.9% of the Brazil newborns had PEth levels ≥ 8 ng/ml and 43.9% with a mean positive PEth of 61.1 ng/ml. PEth levels were significantly higher in newborns compared with their postpartum mothers in both the Uruguay and Brazil samples. Self-reported third-trimester alcohol was 6% in the Uruguay sample and 9.1% in the Brazil sample compared with positive maternal PEth levels in 45.8% and 33.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians may want to consider newborn PEth screening in high-risk populations where prenatal alcohol use is common. The mechanism underlying significantly higher PEth levels in newborns compared with their mothers is not known.

Conceiving risk, divergent responses: perspectives on the construction of risk of FASD in six countries.

Conceptualizations of risks related to women's alcohol use during pregnancy, and the attendant response to preventing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), are examined in six countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Uganda, Uruguay, and China. Considerable differences were found in how risks were conceptualized across countries and in contextual factors that influence research, prevention, and intervention efforts. Differences in conceptualizations were also apparent within countries. Differences also existed in the degree to which the issue of drinking during pregnancy has been minimized or amplified and in whether and how responses are linked to treatment or other public health interventions.

The incidence of prenatal alcohol exposure in Montevideo Uruguay as determined by meconium analysis.

Prenatal alcohol exposure can lead to a wide range of deficits known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Epidemiologic studies regarding alcohol consumption in pregnancy have concentrated on North America, but recent reports have suggested that consumption is significant in many parts of the world. In Uruguay, alcohol consumption has changed into more risky and dangerous patterns and thus has a theoretical risk of having a high rate of prenatal alcohol exposure. This study characterizes the incidence of prenatal alcohol exposure in Montevideo, Uruguay, using a novel biomarker, fatty acid ethyl esters, in meconium as well as a survey to mothers. Nine hundred five meconium samples were collected from Hospital Pereira Rossell and Hospital de Clínicas in Montevideo, Uruguay. A maternal questionnaire was also completed. Meconium was analyzed for fatty acid ethyl esters using liquid-liquid and solid phase extraction with gas chromatography-flame ionization detection. Meconium was also analyzed for other drugs of abuse using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Forty-four percent of meconium samples were above the positive cutoff for fatty acid ethyl esters and represent those newborns with risky prenatal exposure during the final two trimesters of pregnancy. Infants with prenatal alcohol exposure were more likely to have prenatal exposure to tobacco (odds ratio, 1.56; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-2.20) or any illicit drug (odds ratio, 2.29; 95% confidence interval, 0.98-5.31). Ethyl linoleate was a significant predictor of infant birth weight along with prenatal tobacco exposure, maternal body mass index, and infant sex. This study highlights a 44% incidence of prenatal alcohol exposure.

Meconium nicotine and metabolites by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: differentiation of passive and nonexposure and correlation with neonatal outcome measures.

BACKGROUND: Meconium analysis is a diagnostically sensitive and objective alternative to maternal self-report for detecting prenatal tobacco exposure. Nicotine and metabolite disposition in meconium is poorly characterized, and correlation of analytes' concentrations with neonatal outcomes is unexplored. Our objectives were to quantify nicotine, cotinine, trans-3'-hydroxycotinine (OH-cotinine), nornicotine, norcotinine, and glucuronide concentrations in meconium, identify the best biomarkers of in utero tobacco exposure, compare meconium concentrations of tobacco-exposed and nonexposed neonates, and investigate concentration-outcome relationships. METHODS: We quantified concentrations of nicotine and 4 metabolites with and without hydrolysis simultaneously in meconium from tobacco-exposed and nonexposed neonates by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We compared meconium concentrations to birth weight, length, head circumference, gestational age, and 1- and 5-min Apgar scores. RESULTS: Nicotine, cotinine, and OH-cotinine were the most prevalent and abundant meconium tobacco biomarkers and were found in higher concentrations in tobacco-exposed neonates. Whereas cotinine and OH-cotinine are glucuronide bound, performing the lengthy and costly enzymatic hydrolysis identified only 1 additional positive specimen. Unconjugated nicotine, cotinine, or OH-cotinine meconium concentration >10 ng/g most accurately discriminated active from passive and nonexposed neonates. There was no significant correlation between quantitative nicotine and metabolite meconium results and neonatal outcomes, although presence of a nicotine biomarker predicted decreased head circumference. CONCLUSIONS: Unconjugated nicotine, cotinine, and OH-cotinine should be analyzed in meconium to detect in utero tobacco exposure, as approximately 25% of positive specimens did not contain cotinine. Immunoassay testing monitoring cotinine only would underestimate the prevalence of prenatal tobacco exposure.

Consumo de alcohol y otras drogas en embarazadas / Consumption of alcohol and other drugs in pregnant women

La investigación sobre los efectos de las drogas, legales e ilegales, en el embarazo fue planificada, desde su inicio, como una forma de apoyar a quienes se desempeñan en el campo de la prevención y la asistencia a las adicciones en la sociedad uruguaya.Los instrumentos utilizados en la investigación fueron la entrevista cara a cara con la mujer en estado puerperal, dentro de las 48 horas después del nacimiento, los registros perinatales obtenidos de los archivos hospitalarios y las muestras de meconio de los recién nacidos las cuales fueron analizadas en la búsqueda de alcohol, tabaco, psicofármacos y drogas ilegales. La encuesta mostró un consumo durante la gestación de 41,7% de tabaco, 37% de alcohol, 16,5% de tranquilizantes, 68% de cafeína (mas de 400 mg/día), 1,5% de marihuana y 0,4% de pasta base.Las pruebas sobre meconio indicaron que el consumo en el embarazo fue de tabaco 51%, alcohol 40%, tranquilizantes 2,5%, marihuana 2%, anfetaminas 8,3%, cocaína/pasta base 2,5% y opiáceos 0,5%. La investigación encontró que 11% de los recién nacidos de la muestra fueron de bajo peso, y que 15% tuvieron problemas de salud. Los neonatos de madres fumadoras presentaron pesos al nacer estadísticamente más bajos que los restantes. Se halló asimismo que 8,9% de las madres carecían de control prenatal. El 34% de los médicos que controlaron el embarazo advirtió a las gestantes sobre los riesgos del hábito de fumar durante el embarazo, el 27% lo hizo en relación al consumo de alcohol y 7% sobre el uso de drogas ilegales.

The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of drug consumption during pregnancy through an interview and biological samples and to investigate the information given concerning risks about drug consumption during pregnancy. The 1000 interviews performed were personal within 48 hours after labor, using perinatal registries taken from hospital archives. The meconium samples were tested for alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs and tranquilizers. Through the survey, the results about consumption during pregnancy was 41.3 % for tobacco, alcohol 36.8%, tranquilizers 16.3%, caffeine 68% (more than 400 mg/day), cannabis 1.5% and 0.4% for base paste.The consumption in the meconium samples was 51.8% for tobacco, 43.5% for alcohol, 2.5% for tranquilizers, 2% for cannabis, 8.3% for amphetamines, 2.5% for cocaine/ base paste and 0.5% for opiates. 11 % of all newborns had low birth weight and 14.8 % had health problems. Newborns from smoking mothers had lower birth weights. 8,9 % of all the mothers did not control their pregnancy. Physicians who controlled the pregnancies warned their patients about associated risks with tobacco in 34%, 27% for alcohol and 7% for illegal drugs.

Estudio nacional de hábitos tóxicos en el Uruguay / National study of toxic habits in Uruguay

Se presentan los resultados de un estudio de investigación sobre prevalencia del uso indebido de alcohol y drogas en la población general de la República Oriental del Uruguay. En una muestra de hogarse, en áreas urbanas a nivel nacional, se seleccionaron 2.500 casos entre los 15 y los 65 años. Se halló a un 4,7 por ciento de esta población con uso alguna vez en la vida de sustancias ilicitas (marihuana, cocaína, inhalantes y alucinógenos). En los últimos doce meses esta prevalencia se ubicó en el 1,1 por ciento y en el útimo mes en el 0,7 por ciento. La dependencia al tabaco incluyó al 20 por ciento de los entrevistados y el abuso de bebida alcohólica en los últimos 30 dias alcanzó al 19,5 por ciento. Se presentaron asociaciones significativas por edad y sexo

Patrones del uso de drogas en jóvenes de clase alta / Patterns of drug abuse among youngs of high social class

Se estudió el abuso de alcohol y el uso de drogas ilícitas en grupos de jóvenes de clase social alta durante la época veraniega en el área balnearia de Punta del Este (Uruguay). Se aplicó una metodología antropológica para lo cual se capacitaron a jóvenes en técnicas de observación y registro sistemático. Los resultados indicam dos patrones socioculturales definidos en torno al uso de la marihuana y la cocaína; ambos transcurren en un ambiente social tolerante hacia el consumo, y en fuerte asociación con formas de interacción entre jóvenes