Premium
Maternal alcohol use disorder hurts most offspring: Australian study
Author(s) -
Knopf Alison
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the brown university child and adolescent behavior letter
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1556-7575
pISSN - 1058-1073
DOI - 10.1002/cbl.30456
Subject(s) - offspring , indigenous , alcohol use disorder , odds ratio , odds , medicine , alcohol , demography , pediatrics , psychiatry , pregnancy , logistic regression , pathology , sociology , biology , ecology , biochemistry , chemistry , genetics
Most children whose mothers have alcohol use disorder (AUD) experience adverse effects — not just a vulnerable subgroup — according to new research published in Pediatrics last month. The study looked at multiple outcomes, including birth, child protection, justice contact and academic outcomes for indigenous and nonindigenous children (the study was conducted in Australia). The adverse effects were higher in the indigenous children. For the study, all women with a birth recorded from 1983 to 2007 and their offspring were included. Fifty‐five percent of the exposed nonindigenous children and 84% of the indigenous children whose mothers had AUD experienced a negative outcome. The odds of experiencing a negative outcome were highest for those children whose mothers were diagnosed while pregnant; however, this was a small number overall. The researchers concluded that universal prevention strategies are needed to reduce harmful alcohol use and to support at‐risk women and children. O'Leary C, Lawrence D, Hafekost K, et al: Maternal alcohol‐use disorder and child outcomes. Pediatrics . 2020 Feb 24. pii: e20191574. doi: 10.1542/peds.2019‐1574. [Epub ahead of print]