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Prenatal alcohol exposure - a systematic review of the effects on child motor function
Bjørn Bay1, Ulrik Schiøler Kesmodel
1School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Denmark. bjornbay@me.com
Insights
High prenatal alcohol consumption negatively impacts children's motor function. Low weekly alcohol intake during pregnancy does not appear to cause motor deficits, but binge drinking effects remain unclear.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Prenatal alcohol exposure is a significant concern for child development.
- Understanding the impact on motor function is crucial for prevention and intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review existing evidence on prenatal alcohol exposure and human motor function.
- To identify patterns of alcohol consumption associated with motor deficits.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of studies on pregnant women and their offspring.
- Searched Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus.
- Assessed study quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.
Main Results:
- 39 studies were included, analyzing motor function via standardized tests.
- High daily maternal alcohol intake (over 4 drinks/day) was consistently linked to motor function deficits.
- Low weekly intake (under 10 drinks/week) showed minimal association with motor deficits.
Conclusions:
- High daily alcohol consumption during pregnancy adversely affects gross and fine motor skills.
- Low weekly alcohol intake is not associated with motor function deficits.
- The impact of binge drinking on motor function requires further investigation.
Objective:
To systematically review the available evidence on the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on motor function in humans.
Design:
Systematic review.
Population:
Pregnant women and their offspring.
Methods:
The search strategy included Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and Scopus. The authors read titles and abstracts, and the articles that met the predefined criteria for inclusion were obtained and the full text read. The articles were assessed for quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale.
Main Outcome Measures:
Motor function measured on standardized or validated tests.
Results:
The search resulted in 311 titles and abstracts, of which 39 were found relevant for inclusion. The findings of this review suggest a negative effect when the maternal consumption exceeded a certain level. Of all studies reporting a maternal intake of more than four drinks/day, only one study showed no effect on motor function, and of all studies reporting intake levels of less than 10 drinks/week, only one study showed deficit on the children's motor function.
Conclusions:
While it appears consistent that high daily alcohol intake is associated with deficits in gross and fine motor function, and low weekly intake is not associated with such deficits, the issue of binge drinking is unsettled.
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