Prenatal Alcohol Exposure in Relation to Autism Spectrum Disorder: Findings from the Study to Explore Early Development ( SEED )
Year: 2017
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Prenatal alcohol exposure can affect neurodevelopment, but few studies have examined associations with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS: We assessed the association between maternal alcohol use and ASD in the Study to Explore Early Development, a multi-site case-control study of children born between September 2003 and August 2006 in the US Regression analyses included 684 children with research clinician-confirmed ASD, 869 children with non-ASD developmental delays or disorders (DDs), and 962 controls ascertained from the general population (POP). Maternal alcohol exposure during each month from 3 months prior to conception until delivery was assessed by self-report. RESULTS: Mothers of POP children were more likely to report any prenatal alcohol use than mothers of children with ASD or DD. In trimester one, 21.2% of mothers of POP children reported alcohol use compared with 18.1% and 18.2% of mothers of children with ASD or DD, respectively (adjusted OR for ASD vs. POP 0.8, 95% confidence interval 0.6, 1.1). During preconception and the first month of pregnancy, one to two drinks on average per week was inversely associated with ASD risk. CONCLUSIONS: These results do not support an adverse association between low-level alcohol exposure and ASD, although these findings were based on retrospective self-reported alcohol use. Unmeasured confounding or exposure misclassification may explain inverse associations with one to two drinks per week. Pregnant or potentially pregnant women should continue to follow recommendations to avoid alcohol use because of other known effects on infant health and neurodevelopment.
DOI: 10.1111/ppe.12404
Institutions: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kaiser Permanente, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz, Johns Hopkins University, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, California Department of Public Health
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: California Department of Public Health, University of Pennsylvania, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Michigan State University, Johns Hopkins University, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, College of Engineering, Michigan State University, Kaiser Foundation Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Colorado Denver, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1073156504, G1325382752, G1589704429, G1693035172, G1695356537, G1698090921, G1799356628, G1950091414, COLORADO CADDRE STUDY TO EXPLORE EARLY DEVELOPMENT CADDRE_SEED II, G2112919472, G2201851652, G2769056299, G2850379812, G2922796427, G3199248096, G348543287, G3507101531, G3597362842, G3759503684, G4000839584, NORTH CAROLINA CTR FOR AUTISM & DEVELOPMENT DISABILITIES RESEARCH & EPIDEMIOLOGY, G4412438158, G455390876, COMPONENT A: NC STUDY TO EXPLORE EARLY DEVELOPMENT PHASE 3 (SEED 3), G4689219259, G4776313758, G4841778848, NATIONAL CADDRE STUDY: CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND AUTISM, G505094182, G5140393098, G5190902592, G5250426371, NATIONAL CADDRE STUDY: CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND AUTISM, G5705284310, DATA COORDINATING CENTER FOR AUTISM & OTHER DISABILITIES, G5885571094, COMPONENT A: CADDRE: STUDY TO EXPLORE EARLY DEVELOPMENT (SEED) 3, CENTERS FOR AUTISM & DEVELOP DISABILITIES RESARCH & EPIDEMIOL:A CASE-COHORT STUDY, COLORADO CADDRE: A CASE-COHORT STUDY, G6600914918, G664877711, G6770090736, G6838829540, G698974336, G7018679994, Carolina Population Center, G746684721, G7480918048, G7563091076, G7621443489, G7741351181, COMPONENT A: MD CADDRE: STUDY TO EXPLORE EARLY DEVELOPMENT, SEED PHASE III, G7989798703, G8286141760, G8350837875, G845914636, G8562569119, G8572334971, G8857404556, Biostatistics for Research in Environmental Health
OpenAlex ID: W2750995165