title: The role of acetaldehyde in pregnancy outcome after prenatal alcohol exposure.
abstract: It is not known why some heavy-drinking women give birth to children with alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD) whereas others do not. The objective of this study was to determine whether the frequency of elevated maternal blood acetaldehyde levels among alcoholics is in the range of ARBD among alcoholic women. MEDLINE was searched from 1980 to 2000 using the key words acetaldehyde, pharmacokinetics, and alcoholism for controlled trials reporting blood or breath acetaldehyde levels in alcoholics and nonalcoholics. Separately, using the key words fetal alcohol syndrome, epidemiology, prevalence, incidence, and frequency, articles were identified reporting ARBD incidences among the offspring of heavy drinkers. Of 23 articles reporting acetaldehyde levels in alcoholics, four met the inclusion criteria. Forty-three studies reported on the rate of ARBD in heavy drinkers, and 14 were accepted. Thirty-four percent of heavy drinkers had a child with ARBD, and 43% of chronic alcoholics had high acetaldehyde levels. The similar frequencies of high acetaldehyde levels among alcoholics and the rates of ARBD among alcoholic women provide epidemiologic support to the hypothesis that acetaldehyde may play a major role in the cause of ARBD.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Hard
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Einarson
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koren
mesh_terms: D000079:Acetaldehyde / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D000079:Acetaldehyde