title: Maternal periconceptional alcohol consumption and the risk of neural tube defects in offspring: a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Several studies have been conducted to examine the association between alcohol consumption during pregnancy and risk of neural tube defects (NTDs), while the results are inconsistent. In the present study, we aimed to clarify the relationship between maternal periconceptional alcohol consumption and NTDs risk in offspring.
  
  
  METHODS
  PubMed, Springer Link, and Elsevier databases were searched up to November, 2014. All case-control and cohort studies of maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy with risk of NTDs were included. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for highest versus lowest category of alcohol consumption were calculated using a fixed- or random-effects model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The pooled ORs of maternal periconceptional alcohol consumption were 1.01 (95% CI: 0.71-1.45) for total NTDs and 1.03 (95% CI: 0.65-1.64) for NTDs subtype of spina bifida. Specifically, the pooled ORs of maternal alcohol consumption in the first trimester and binge drinking were 1.01 (95% CI: 0.71-1.43), and 1.07 (95% CI: 0.81-1.41), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggested no association between maternal periconceptional alcohol consumption and NTDs risk in offspring.
authors.affiliation: a Yidu Central Hospital of Weifang, Qingzhou City , Shandong Province , China and.
authors.forename: Li-Yun
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Leng
authors.affiliation: a Yidu Central Hospital of Weifang, Qingzhou City , Shandong Province , China and.
authors.forename: Jian-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: a Yidu Central Hospital of Weifang, Qingzhou City , Shandong Province , China and.
authors.forename: Shuang-Shuang
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: b Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Hangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy
keywords: Alcohol; meta-analysis; neural tube defects; pregnancy