title: Maternal risk factors predicting child physical characteristics and dysmorphology in fetal alcohol syndrome and partial fetal alcohol syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous research in South Africa revealed very high rates of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), of 46-89 per 1000 among young children. Maternal and child data from studies in this community summarize the multiple predictors of FAS and partial fetal alcohol syndrome (PFAS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Sequential regression was employed to examine influences on child physical characteristics and dysmorphology from four categories of maternal traits: physical, demographic, childbearing, and drinking. Then, a structural equation model (SEM) was constructed to predict influences on child physical characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individual sequential regressions revealed that maternal drinking measures were the most powerful predictors of a child's physical anomalies (R² = .30, p < .001), followed by maternal demographics (R² = .24, p < .001), maternal physical characteristics (R²=.15, p < .001), and childbearing variables (R² = .06, p < .001). The SEM utilized both individual variables and the four composite categories of maternal traits to predict a set of child physical characteristics, including a total dysmorphology score. As predicted, drinking behavior is a relatively strong predictor of child physical characteristics (β = 0.61, p < .001), even when all other maternal risk variables are included; higher levels of drinking predict child physical anomalies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, the SEM model explains 62% of the variance in child physical anomalies. As expected, drinking variables explain the most variance. But this highly controlled estimation of multiple effects also reveals a significant contribution played by maternal demographics and, to a lesser degree, maternal physical and childbearing variables.
authors.affiliation: The University of New Mexico, Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions (CASAA), Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA. pmay@unm.edu
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: May
authors.forename: Barbara G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Tabachnick
authors.forename: J Phillip
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gossage
authors.forename: Wendy O
authors.initials: WO
authors.lastname: Kalberg
authors.forename: Anna-Susan
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Marais
authors.forename: Luther K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manning
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.forename: H Eugene
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Hoyme
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D002648:Child; D000431:Ethanol; D019066:Facies; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009133:Muscular Atrophy / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools; D013019:South Africa; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol