Prenatal exposure to binge drinking and cognitive and behavioral outcomes at age 7 years.
OBJECTIVE
The goal of this study was to examine differential effects of amount and pattern of prenatal alcohol exposure on child outcome.


METHODS
Alcohol use was assessed at each prenatal visit, and IQ and behavior were measured at age 7 years.


RESULTS
After control for confounders, the amount of exposure was unrelated to IQ score and behavior for >500 black 7-year-old children. However, children who were exposed to binge drinking were 1.7 times more likely to have IQ scores in the mentally retarded range and 2.5 times more likely to have clinically significant levels of delinquent behavior.


CONCLUSIONS
During prenatal care, clinicians should attend not only to amount but also to the pattern of alcohol intake, because of the elevated risk for cognitive deficits and long-term behavioral abnormality.
Department of Family Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City 37614, USA. nordstro@mail.etsu.edu
Beth Nordstrom
BN
Bailey
Virginia
V
Delaney-Black
Chandice Y
CY
Covington
Joel
J
Ager
James
J
Janisse
John H
JH
Hannigan
Robert J
RJ
Sokol
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001519:Behavior; D044383:Black People; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000453:epidemiology; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
D000431:Ethanol