title: Maternal risk factors for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in a province in Italy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Maternal risk factors for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in Italy and Mediterranean cultures need clarification, as there are few studies and most are plagued by inaccurate reporting of antenatal alcohol use.
  
  
  METHODS
  Maternal interviews (n = 905) were carried out in a population-based study of the prevalence and characteristics of FASD in the Lazio region of Italy which provided data for multivariate case control comparisons and multiple correlation models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Case control findings from interviews seven years post-partum indicate that mothers of children with FASD are significantly more likely than randomly-selected controls or community mothers to: be shorter; have higher body mass indexes (BMI); be married to a man with legal problems; report more drinking three months pre-pregnancy; engage in more current drinking and drinking alone; and have alcohol problems in her family. Logistic regression analysis of multiple candidate predictors of a FASD diagnosis indicates that alcohol problems in the child's family is the most significant risk factor, making a diagnosis within the continuum of FASD 9 times more likely (95%C.I. = 1.6 to 50.7). Sequential multiple regression analysis of the child's neuropsychological performance also identifies alcohol problems in the child's family as the only significant maternal risk variable (p < .001) when controlling for other potential risk factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Underreporting of prenatal alcohol use has been demonstrated among Italian and other Mediterranean antenatal samples, and it was suspected in this sample. Nevertheless, several significant maternal risk factors for FASD have been identified.
authors.affiliation: Center on Alcoholism, Alcohol Addiction Program, The University of Rome, Sapienza, Plazzale Aldo Moro 5, Rome 00186, Italy. Electronic address: Mauro.Ceccanti@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ceccanti
authors.affiliation: Center on Alcoholism, Alcohol Addiction Program, The University of Rome, Sapienza, Plazzale Aldo Moro 5, Rome 00186, Italy. Electronic address: d.fiorentino@lbero.it.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fiorentino
authors.affiliation: Center on Alcoholism, Alcohol Addiction Program, The University of Rome, Sapienza, Plazzale Aldo Moro 5, Rome 00186, Italy. Electronic address: gcoriale@tin.it.
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coriale
authors.affiliation: Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions (CASAA), The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA. Electronic address: wkalberg@unm.edu.
authors.forename: Wendy O
authors.initials: WO
authors.lastname: Kalberg
authors.affiliation: Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions (CASAA), The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA. Electronic address: dbuckely@unm.edu.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.affiliation: Sanford Research & Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, USA. Electronic address: Gene.Hoyme@sanfordhealth.org.
authors.forename: H Eugene
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Hoyme
authors.affiliation: Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions (CASAA), The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA. Electronic address: jgossage@unm.edu.
authors.forename: J Phillip
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gossage
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 10138, USA. Electronic address: lrobinson@upa.chob.edu.
authors.forename: Luther K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94109, USA. Electronic address: mmanning@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manning
authors.affiliation: Center on Alcoholism, Alcohol Addiction Program, The University of Rome, Sapienza, Plazzale Aldo Moro 5, Rome 00186, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romeo
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA. Electronic address: julie_hasken@unc.edu.
authors.forename: Julie M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hasken
authors.affiliation: California State University, Northridge, CA 91330, USA. Electronic address: barbara.tabachnick@csun.edu.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tabachnick
authors.affiliation: Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions (CASAA), The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blankenship
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA; Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions (CASAA), The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA. Electronic address: philip_may@unc.edu.
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: May
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Alcohol consumption; Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD); Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS); Italy; Maternal risk for FASD