Moderate prenatal alcohol exposure and psychomotor development at preschool age

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) 1995-12, Vol.85 (12), p.1654-1661
• Main Authors: Larroque, B, Kaminski, M, Dehaene, P, Subtil, D, Delfosse, M J, Querleu, D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Alcohol use; Alcoholic beverages; Alcoholism; Alcoholism - complications; Biological and medical sciences; Birth order; Birth weight; Child development; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Cognitive development; Developmental Disabilities - chemically induced; Developmental Disabilities - diagnosis; Drug addictions; Families & family life; Female; Fetal alcohol syndrome; Fetal exposure; Follow-Up Studies; France; Hospitals; Humans; Hypotheses; Intellectual disabilities; Investigations; Male; Maternal & child health; Medical research; Medical sciences; Mothers; Nervous system; Obstetrics; Population; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Pregnancy Trimester, First; Prenatal care; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Preschool children; Psychologists; Psychomotor efficiency; Psychomotor Performance; Public health; Relationship; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Sociodemographics; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tobacco; Toxicology; Womens health
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.85.12.1654

This study investigated the effect of moderate prenatal alcohol exposure on psychomotor development of preschool-age children in a longitudinal study. Pregnant women were interviewed about their alcohol consumption at their first visit to the maternity hospital in Roubaix, France. Alcohol consumption before pregnancy and during the first trimester was assessed with a structured questionnaire. The psychomotor development of 155 children of these women was assessed with the McCarthy scales of children's abilities when the children were about 4 1/2 years old. Consumption of 1.5 oz of absolute alcohol (approximately three drinks) or more per day during pregnancy was significantly related to a decrease of 7 points in the mean score on the general cognitive index of the McCarthy scales, after gender, birth order, maternal education, score for family stimulation, family status, maternal employment, child's age at examination, and examiner were controlled for. This study showed that moderate to heavy alcohol consumption during pregnancy, at levels well below those associated with fetal alcohol syndrome, has effects on children's psychomotor development.