title: Alcohol during pregnancy worsens acute respiratory infections in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study explored whether alcohol consumption during pregnancy increased the risk of life-threatening respiratory infections in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively evaluated children under the age of two years admitted to hospitals in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with severe acute respiratory infections during the winters of 2011 and 2012. Information on maternal alcohol consumption during the third trimester of pregnancy was collected using standardised questionnaires and categorised as never, low if it was once a week and high if it was equal or more than once a week.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 3423 children hospitalised with acute respiratory infection, 2089 (63.7%) had respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Alcohol consumption during the last trimester was reported by 398 mothers (12.4%) and categorised as low (n = 210, 6.5%) or high (n = 188, 5.9%). A greater effect on life-threatening respiratory infection, defined as oxygen saturation of or up to 87%, was observed with higher alcohol intake due to all viruses and specifically RSV in the logistic regression analyses. Alcohol consumption was strongly associated with life-threatening disease, particularly in boys whose adjusted odds ratio rose from 3.67 to 13.52 when their mothers drank alcohol.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Alcohol consumption during pregnancy was associated with life-threatening respiratory infections in boys.
authors.affiliation: Fundación INFANT, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.|Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), CABA, Argentina.|Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Romina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Libster
authors.affiliation: Fundación INFANT, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.|Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), CABA, Argentina.
authors.forename: Fausto M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Ferolla
authors.affiliation: Fundación INFANT, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.|Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Diego R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Hijano
authors.affiliation: Fundación INFANT, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.|Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), CABA, Argentina.
authors.forename: Patricio L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Acosta
authors.affiliation: Fundación INFANT, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Anabella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Erviti
authors.affiliation: Fundación INFANT, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.|Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Fernando P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Polack
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: Alcohol; Life-threatening disease; Pregnancy; Respiratory syncytial virus; Respiratory tract infections