RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To determine if prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) affected physical and cognitive/behavioral outcomes in apparently typically developing, first-grade children. STUDY DESIGN: Three groups were compared: children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD); children with PAE without FASD; and children without PAE. RESULTS: The three groups were significantly different on most physical traits and fewer neurodevelopmental traits. Two-group comparisons of exposed and unexposed, non-FASD groups were statistically different on: height, weight, head circumference (OFC), body mass index (BMI), and palpebral fissure length (PFL). Neurobehavioral outcomes were significant in three-group, but not two-group, comparisons. Few sex differences were observed; however, sex ratios indicated fewer male offspring in first grade among women who consumed 6+ drinks per occasion during pregnancy. For weight, OFC, BMI, age, rural residence, and drinking measures, mothers of exposed children without FASD were intermediaries between, and significantly different from, the other maternal groups. Adjusted for socioeconomic covariates, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), three-group comparisons were significantly different for cognitive/behavioral variables (p<.001); however, two-group neurobehavior comparisons for children without FASD were not significant (p>.05). Physical trait MANCOVA comparisons of the non-FASD groups were significant only for weight (p<.004) when tested univariately and through stepdown analysis. Socioeconomic-adjusted trend plots were in the expected direction for nonverbal IQ, problem behaviors, attention, height, weight, OFC, vermilion, PFL, and total dysmorphology score. CONCLUSIONS: Even when meeting developmental norms, children with PAE exhibited trends of poorer growth and cognitive/behavioral traits than children without PAE. These findings support the notion that abstinence during pregnancy is best.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To test the sensitivity and specificity of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) extracted from meconium to identify alcohol-using pregnant women with a sensitive and specific methodology, gas chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (GC/MS/MS). Study design Twenty-seven samples of meconium were obtained from infants from the mixed race community in Cape Town, South Africa, who were enrolled in a longitudinal neurobehavioral study. Maternal alcohol use was reported prospectively during pregnancy. FAEEs were isolated from meconium and quantitated by GC/MS/MS. RESULTS: Ethyl oleate was the FAEE that correlated most strongly with maternal self-reported drinking, especially with the average ounces of absolute alcohol ingested per drinking day. Ethyl oleate was most strongly related to drinking in the second and third trimesters (Pearson r=.55 and.40, respectively). At a threshold of 1.5 average ounces of absolute alcohol ingested per drinking day, the area under the receiving operator characteristic curve was.92 (95% confidence interval, 0.74-0.97). Using a cut-off value of 32 ng/g, sensitivity was 84.2% and specificity was 83.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Ethyl oleate concentration in meconium assayed by GC/MS/MS provides a highly sensitive and specific indicator of maternal alcohol use during pregnancy.