Prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in 4 US Communities

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Public Health
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) represent significant, lifelong disabilities with limited current prevalence data in diverse US populations.
• Previous estimates suggested a prevalence of 10 per 1000 children, but newer, larger-scale studies are needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the prevalence of FASDs, including fetal alcohol syndrome, partial FASD, and alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder, across four distinct US regions.
• To provide updated prevalence figures for FASDs in a contemporary, diverse population sample.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study employed active case ascertainment from 2010 to 2016, assessing first-grade children across four US communities.
• Systematic assessment covered four key domains: dysmorphic features, physical growth, neurobehavioral development, and prenatal alcohol exposure.
• Data were collected from 6,639 first-graders, with analyses focusing on conservative and weighted prevalence estimates.

Main Results:

• The study identified 222 cases of FASDs among 6,639 first-graders.
• Conservative prevalence estimates for FASDs ranged from 11.3 to 50.0 per 1000 children (1.1% to 5.0%).
• Weighted prevalence estimates indicated a range from 31.1 to 98.5 per 1000 children (3.1% to 9.9%).

Conclusions:

• Estimated FASD prevalence among first-graders in the studied US communities falls between 1.1% and 5.0% using a conservative estimation method.
• These findings offer more current and potentially accurate US prevalence estimates compared to older data.
• The generalizability of these estimates to all US communities may be limited.