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   Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders prevalence in U.S. revealed by study   
   Date:   
   October 30, 2014   
   Source:   
   Sanford Health   
      
   Nearly 5 percent of U.S. children may be affected by fetal alcohol spectrum   
   disorders, according to a new study co-authored by Sanford Research's Gene   
   Hoyme, M.D., and Amy Elliott, Ph.D., and published by Pediatrics.   
      
   The study, "Prevalence and characteristics of fetal alcohol spectrum   
   disorders," explored the incidence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD)   
   among first-grade students, or 6 to 7 year olds, in a representative   
   Midwestern U.S. community, which was    
   Sioux Falls. According to Hoyme, students were enrolled from all the   
   elementary schools in Sioux Falls, both public and parochial. The study is the   
   first school-based ascertainment study to be completed as a measure of FASD   
   prevalence in American    
   children.   
      
   FASD are a group of conditions that can occur in the children of mothers who   
   drank alcohol during pregnancy. Characteristics are both physical and   
   cognitive and can include abnormal facial features, smaller-than-average   
   physical growth, poor coordination,   
    learning disabilities and vision and hearing problems.   
   The research team gathered data on two groups of children related to physical   
   growth, development, dysmorphology, cognition and behavior. The first group   
   was made up of small children who were in the 25th percentile or less in   
   height, weight and head    
   circumference; the second group, or the control group, was randomly selected.   
   The mothers of children from both groups were interviewed for maternal risk   
   related to alcohol consumption while pregnant.   
      
   Around 2.4 percent to 4.8 percent of all the children studied were found to   
   have some form of FASD based on cognitive and physical attributes.   
   Furthermore, women who had affected children displayed higher levels of   
   weekend binge drinking before    
   discovering they were pregnant, sought prenatal care later and less frequently   
   and noted the fathers of their children were frequent drinkers.   
   "Previous estimates of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders put the occurrence at   
   around 1 percent in the United States," said Hoyme. "By actively assessing the   
   children who were part of this study, our team was able to develop a more   
   accurate figure for the    
   prevalence of this disorder among the predominately middle class population of   
   Sioux Falls and identify key risk factors that can predict it."   
      
   Story Source:   
   The above story is based on materials provided by Sanford Health. Note:   
   Materials may be edited for content and length.   
      
   Journal Reference:   
   P. A. May, A. Baete, J. Russo, A. J. Elliott, J. Blankenship, W. O. Kalberg,   
   D. Buckley, M. Brooks, J. Hasken, O. Abdul-Rahman, M. P. Adam, L. K. Robinson,   
   M. Manning, H. E. Hoyme. Prevalence and Characteristics of Fetal Alcohol   
   Spectrum Disorders.    
   PEDIATRICS, 2014; 134 (5): 855 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2013-3319   
      
   Cite This Page:   
   MLA APA Chicago   
   Sanford Health. "Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders prevalence in U.S. revealed   
   by study." ScienceDaily.    
      
   ScienceDaily, 30 October 2014. .   
      
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