Mortality rates in subjects with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and their siblings

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to estimate the mortality rate in subjects with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and their siblings whose FASD status was unknown. METHODS: We used the state FASD Registry to link subjects with FASD to a North Dakota birth certificate. We were able to link 304 of...

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Published in:Birth defects research. A Clinical and molecular teratology 2008-04, Vol.82 (4), p.217-223
Main Authors: Burd, Larry, Klug, Marilyn G., Bueling, Robyn, Martsolf, John, Olson, Meredith, Kerbeshian, Jacob
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Algorithms
case mortality rate
Case-Control Studies
Cause of Death
Child
Child, Preschool
children
ethanol
Female
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders - mortality
Humans
Infant
Infant Mortality
Infant, Newborn
Male
North Dakota - epidemiology
Pregnancy
prenatal
Prevalence
Registries
Siblings
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Summary:BACKGROUND: Our objective was to estimate the mortality rate in subjects with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and their siblings whose FASD status was unknown. METHODS: We used the state FASD Registry to link subjects with FASD to a North Dakota birth certificate. We were able to link 304 of 486 cases (63%). We used the birth certificates to identify the mother and children born to the mother (siblings). We then searched for death certificates for both the FASD cases and their siblings. We then calculated the annual and age‐adjusted mortality rates for the siblings of the Registry cases and compared them with mortality rates from North Dakota. RESULTS: The FASD case mortality rate was 2.4%, with a 4.5% mortality rate for their sibings, accounting for 14% of all deaths when compared to the North Dakota residents matched by age and year of death. The sibling deaths accounted for 21.5% of all cause mortality matched by age and year of death. The age‐standardized mortality ratios were 4.9 for the FASD cases and 2.6 for their siblings whose FASD status was unknown. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality rates for FASD cases and their siblings were increased and represent a substantial proportion of all cause mortality in North Dakota. Prevention of FASD may be a useful strategy to decrease mortality. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:1542-0752
1542-0760
DOI:10.1002/bdra.20445