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Binge drinking during pregnancy and psychosis-like experiences in the child at age 11
Laura Stonor Gregersen1, Julie Werenberg Dreier2,3, Katrine Strandberg-Larsen2
1Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, P.O. Box 2099, 1014, Copenhagen K, Denmark. laura_gregersen@hotmail.com.
Insights
Prenatal exposure to binge drinking did not increase the overall risk of psychosis-like experiences (PLEs) in children. However, a potential link was observed between maternal binge drinking and a specific delusional idea in offspring.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a known risk factor for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.
- Previous studies suggest a link between high general alcohol intake and increased psychosis-like experiences (PLEs) in children.
- The specific impact of prenatal binge drinking on PLEs requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between prenatal exposure to maternal binge drinking and the risk of psychosis-like experiences (PLEs) in children.
- To examine the relationship between binge drinking frequency, timing, and average alcohol consumption with PLEs.
- To explore potential links between specific types of PLEs and prenatal binge drinking exposure.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Danish National Birth Cohort (1996-2002) including 44,326 mother-child pairs.
- Maternal binge drinking information was collected via telephone interviews during pregnancy.
- Childhood PLEs were assessed at age 11 using a web-based questionnaire; analyses employed weighted multinomial logistic regression.
Main Results:
- Maternal binge drinking was reported by 27% of participants.
- No significant association was found between prenatal binge drinking exposure and the overall risk of one or more PLEs (RRR 1.04-1.06).
- No association was observed with binge drinking frequency/timing or average alcohol consumption, though a non-significant trend suggested a link to a specific delusional idea.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal binge drinking and average alcohol consumption during pregnancy do not appear to increase the overall risk of psychosis-like experiences in offspring.
- A potential, albeit non-significant, association between binge drinking and a specific delusional idea warrants further research.
- These findings contribute to understanding the nuanced effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on child mental health.
Abstract:
Increased frequency of psychosis-like experiences (PLEs) has been previously reported in children born to mothers with high general levels of alcohol intake during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to examine whether the risk of PLEs was likewise elevated in children prenatally exposed to binge drinking. Participants were 44,326 children and their mothers enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort from 1996-2002. Information on maternal binge drinking was collected twice in pregnancy by telephone interview and PLEs in the children were ascertained in a Web-based questionnaire at age 11. Analyses were carried out using weighted multinomial logistic regression models. Maternal binge drinking was relatively common among the participating women (27%). The adjusted relative risk ratio (RRR) for reporting one definite PLE symptom was 1.04 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.95-1.13) and 1.06 (95% CI 0.95-1.20) for two or more symptoms in children exposed compared to unexposed to binge drinking during pregnancy. Furthermore, no association was found when addressing frequency and timing of binge drinking, nor for various levels of average alcohol consumption. When sub-dividing PLEs into specific types of experiences however, a slightly, although non-significant, increased risk was observed for one specific delusional idea, receiving messages from radio/TV, following prenatal exposure to binge drinking. Our results provide no evidence of an association between maternal binge drinking, nor average alcohol consumption in pregnancy, and overall occurrence of PLEs in the offspring. However, our results indicated that binge drinking might be related to a specific PLE.
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