60- and 72-month follow-up of children prenatally exposed to marijuana, cigarettes, and alcohol: cognitive and language assessment.
Cognitive and receptive language development were examined in 135 60-month-old and 137 72-month-old children for whom prenatal exposure to marijuana, cigarettes, and alcohol had been ascertained. Discriminant Function analysis revealed an association between prenatal cigarette exposure and lower cognitive and receptive language scores at 60 and 72 months. This paralleled and extended observations made with this sample at annual assessments at 12 to 48 months of age. Unlike observations made at 48 months, prenatal exposure to marijuana was not associated with the cognitive and verbal outcomes. Relatively low levels of maternal alcohol consumption did not have significant relationships with the outcome variables. The importance of assessing subtle components rather than global cognitive and language skills to detect potential behavioral teratogenic effects of the drugs being examined is discussed.
Fried
P A
PA
Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
O'Connell
C M
CM
Watkinson
B
B
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000009:adverse effects; D001076:Aptitude; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009864:Ontario; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012931:Social Environment