Parental alcohol misuse is a powerful predictor for the risk of traumatic brain injury in childhood.
BACKGROUND
Although the positive relationship between parental alcohol use and children's injuries is well established, it is not known whether parental alcohol misuse is a risk factor for traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) of their children and whether subjects with childhood TBI have hazardous drinking habits in adolescence.


METHODS
The authors conducted a longitudinal cohort study at Oulu University Hospital. The cohort consisted of 12 058 subjects born in 1966, of which 207 had sustained TBI before the age of 14 years. Data on parental alcohol problems were obtained from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register and the adolescents' drinking habits were analysed based on a postal inquiry at the age of 14 years.


RESULTS
Parental alcohol misuse (RR 1.99, CI 1.19-3.33) and male gender (RR 1.53, CI 1.12-2.08) significantly predicted the risk of childhood TBI. Drinking to intoxication at the age of 14 was significantly associated with parental alcohol misuse (RR 1.62, CI 1.34-1.96), belonging to a one-parent family (RR 1.80, CI 1.61-2.02) and mild TBI (RR 1.67, CI 1.20-2.33).


CONCLUSIONS
It was observed that parental alcohol misuse is a major risk factor for TBI in children and drinking to intoxication is a common drinking pattern of adolescents who have sustained TBI in childhood.
Winqvist
Satu
S
Department of Neurology, University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital, Box 25, FIN-90029 OYS, Finland. satu.winqvist@oulu.fi
Jokelainen
Jari
J
Luukinen
Heikki
H
Hillbom
Matti
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents; D000431:Ethanol / Q000506:poisoning; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
D000431:Ethanol