title: Alcohol consumption during pregnancy and birth outcomes: the Kyushu Okinawa Maternal and Child Health Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A recent meta-analysis showed no relationships between light to moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy and the risk of low birth weight (LBW), preterm birth (PTB), or small-for-gestational-age (SGA). Here, we present the first epidemiological study on this topic in Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study subjects were 1565 Japanese mothers with singleton pregnancies and the babies born from these pregnancies. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy was assessed using a self-administered diet history questionnaire. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy was classified into three categories (none, < 1 g/day, and ≥ 1 g/day).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean birth weight of the babies was 3006.3 g. 7.7% were classified as LBW, 4.0% as PTB, and 7.8% as SGA. The range of maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy was 0.0 to 11.7 g per day: 1356 (86.7%) mothers were abstainers and the 95th percentile value was 0.84 g per day. Compared with abstinence, alcohol consumption of 1.0 g or more per day during pregnancy was significantly associated with an increased risk of PTB with a significant positive linear trend: the adjusted OR for PTB associated with maternal alcohol consumption of 1.0 g or more per day was 2.58 (95% CI: 1.004 - 5.80, P for trend = 0.03). No significant relationships were observed between maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and the risk of LBW or SGA, and there was no material association between maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and birth weight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study in Japan to show that maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy of 1.0 g or more per day was significantly positively associated with the risk of PTB, but not LBW or SGA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan. miyake-y@fukuoka-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyake
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Hitomi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okubo
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arakawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001724:Birth Weight; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires