Study of first-graders shows fetal alcohol spectrum disorders prevalent in US communities
February 6, 2018 – Philip A. May, PhD, research professor at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute, led NIH-funded research that examined over 6,000 children to determine prevalence of FASD ranged from 1.1 to 5 percent.
A new study of more than 6,000 first-graders across four U.S. communities has found that a significant number of the children examined, as many as 5 percent in one community sample, may have fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, the new findings may represent more accurate prevalence estimates of FASD among general U.S. communities than prior research. Previous FASD estimates were based on smaller study populations and do not reflect the overall U.S. population.
The continuum of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in a community in South Africa: Prevalence and characteristics in a fifth sample.
An evolutionarily conserved mechanism of calcium-dependent neurotoxicity in a zebrafish model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
High-throughput transcriptome sequencing identifies candidate genetic modifiers of vulnerability to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
Preventing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)
November 24, 2015 • From the desk of: David Horita, Ph.D.
THE STUDY
In a recently published paper1, NRI investigator Phil May and colleagues showed that the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and partial fetal alcohol syndrome (PFAS) is two to three times higher than previously estimated.
Dr. May’s study differs from most FAS prevalence studies in its use of active case ascertainment testing methods to estimate prevalence. This technique includes developmental testing of the child and detailed one-on-one interviews of the mother. The interview questions covered alcohol use during pregnancy, but also asked questions related to secondary factors, such as overall drinking history, marital status; socioeconomic status, and diet/nutrition. This approach is much more labor-intensive than the more common survey approach that relies on self-reported alcohol use information. However, it is also more accurate: self-reported alcohol usage surveys often underestimate FAS because of the stigma of drinking during pregnancy.
Dietary intake, nutrition, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the Western Cape Province of South Africa
May, PA, Hamrick, KJ, Corbin, KD, Hasken, JM, Marais, AS, Brooke, LE, Blankenship, J, Hoyme, HE, Gossage, JP. (2014) Dietary intake, nutrition and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.
Callosal Thickness Reductions relate to Facial Dysmorphology in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Yang, Y, Phillips, OR, Kan, E, Sulik, KK, Mattson, SN, Riley, EP, Jones, KL, Adnams, CM, May, PA, O’Connor, MJ, Narr, KL, Sowell, ER. Callosal Thickness Reductions relate to Facial Dysmorphology in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2012 May; 36(5): 798-806.