Original Article

Alcohol Consumption Among Pregnant Women in a Swedish Sample and Its Effects on the Newborn Outcomes

  1. Erika Comasco1,2,
  2. Gunilla Hallberg3,
  3. Anders Helander4,*,
  4. Lars Oreland1,
  5. Viveka Sundelin-Wahlsten5

Article first published online: 6 APR 2012

DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01783.x

Issue

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research

Volume 36, Issue 10, pages 1779–1786, October 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Comasco, E., Hallberg, G., Helander, A., Oreland, L. and Sundelin-Wahlsten, V. (2012), Alcohol Consumption Among Pregnant Women in a Swedish Sample and Its Effects on the Newborn Outcomes. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 36: 1779–1786. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01783.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Neuroscience, Unit of Pharmacology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

  2. 2

    Center for Clinical Research Västerås, Västerås Central Hospital, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

  3. 3

    Department of Women's and Children's Health, Unit of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

  4. 4

    Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden

  5. 5

    Department of Neuroscience, Unit of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

*Reprint requests: Anders Helander, C1:74, Clinical Chemistry, Karolinska University Laboratory Huddinge, SE-141 86 Stockholm, Sweden; Tel.: +46-(0)8-58581293; Fax: +46-(0)8-58581260; E-mail: anders. helander@ki.se

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 1 OCT 2012
  2. Article first published online: 6 APR 2012
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 17 JAN 2012
  4. Manuscript Received: 27 JUN 2011

Funded by

  • Swedish Alcohol Retailing Monopoly
  • Swedish Labor Market Insurance Company

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Keywords:

  • Alcohol;
  • AUDIT ;
  • Pregnancy;
  • CDT ;
  • PEth;
  • Women

Background

Little is known about the effects of low levels of maternal alcohol intake on the neuropsychological development of the child. This study is part of an ongoing investigation on maternal drinking and presents data on demographic variables, maternal alcohol use, and birth outcomes from that study.

Methods

The sample comprised 2,264 women from a Swedish antenatal clinic. Retrospective self-report data were collected on alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy, using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and on nicotine use. Specific alcohol biomarkers for excessive drinking, carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) in serum and phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in whole blood, were determined during mid-pregnancy in a subsample of the women. Data on labor and early characteristics of the child were also assessed.

Results

Before pregnancy, 89% of the women regularly consumed alcohol and 49% reported occasional or frequent binge drinking. Nicotine was used by 15% before and by 5% during pregnancy. During pregnancy, 12% continued using alcohol and 5% also admitted binge drinking. However, all alcohol biomarker values were below the reporting limits (CDT ≤ 1.7% disialotransferrin; total PEth < 0.1 μmol/L). Self-reported drinking during pregnancy was associated with a higher AUDIT score before pregnancy, nicotine use at the time of the first prenatal visit, older age, and previous legal abortions.

Conclusions

The AUDIT questionnaire and 2 specific alcohol biomarkers were used in routine maternity care to collect information about drinking during pregnancy and thereby to identify children at risk for alcohol-related complications. While the AUDIT results suggested that a significant number of women continued using alcohol during pregnancy, implying a risk for fetal disorders, the biomarkers showed negative test values thus indicating only modest drinking levels.

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