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Phosphatidylethanol Levels in Postpartum Women and Their Newborns in Uruguay and Brazil
Aileen E Baldwin1, Nicole Hayes2, Erika Ostrander3
1United States Drug Testing Laboratories, Inc., (AEB), Des Plaines, Illinois.
Insights
Newborn screening for phosphatidylethanol (PEth) may help identify infants affected by prenatal alcohol exposure. PEth levels were significantly higher in newborns than in their mothers, suggesting its potential for early detection of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Area of Science:
- Neonatal screening
- Biomarkers of prenatal substance exposure
- Public health interventions for FASD
Background:
- Growing interest in early identification of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) for timely intervention.
- Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a promising biomarker for universal newborn screening.
- Prenatal alcohol exposure poses significant risks to infant development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare phosphatidylethanol (PEth) levels in postpartum women and their newborns.
- To evaluate PEth as a potential universal newborn screening tool for prenatal alcohol exposure.
- To assess PEth levels in Uruguay and Brazil.
Main Methods:
- Study involved 1,140 postpartum women and their newborns in Uruguay and Brazil.
- Collected self-reported alcohol use during pregnancy data.
- Analyzed maternal and newborn dried blood spot samples for PEth levels.
Main Results:
- Newborns exhibited significantly higher PEth levels than their mothers in both study sites.
- In Uruguay, 86.8% of newborns and 45.8% of mothers had PEth ≥ 8 ng/ml.
- In Brazil, 76.9% of newborns and 33.2% of mothers had PEth ≥ 8 ng/ml.
- Discrepancy noted between self-reported alcohol use and positive maternal PEth levels.
Conclusions:
- Newborn PEth screening could be valuable in high-risk populations with prevalent prenatal alcohol use.
- The underlying mechanism for higher newborn PEth levels compared to maternal levels requires further investigation.
- PEth shows potential as a biomarker for identifying infants affected by prenatal alcohol exposure.
Background:
There is increasing interest in the development of newborn screening tests to identify children at risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in order to provide these children with early intervention. Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) has emerged as a potential universal newborn screening candidate.
Methods:
The aim of this report was to present the results of a study designed to compare PEth levels in 1,140 postpartum women and their newborn infants in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Self-report alcohol use during pregnancy data was collected, along with both maternal and newborn dried blood spot samples for PEth analysis.
Results:
The average age and parity of the women in the sample were 26 years of age and 2.3 pregnancies. For the Uruguay sample (n = 611), 45.8% of postpartum women had PEth levels ≥ 8 ng/ml with a mean positive PEth of 43.6 ng/ml. In contrast, 86.8% of the newborns had PEth levels ≥ 8 ng/ml, with a mean positive PEth of 77.4 ng/ml. For the Brazil sample (n = 529), 33.2% of women had PEth levels ≥ 8 ng/ml with a mean positive PEth of 31 ng/ml. In contrast, 76.9% of the Brazil newborns had PEth levels ≥ 8 ng/ml and 43.9% with a mean positive PEth of 61.1 ng/ml. PEth levels were significantly higher in newborns compared with their postpartum mothers in both the Uruguay and Brazil samples. Self-reported third-trimester alcohol was 6% in the Uruguay sample and 9.1% in the Brazil sample compared with positive maternal PEth levels in 45.8% and 33.2%, respectively.
Conclusions:
Clinicians may want to consider newborn PEth screening in high-risk populations where prenatal alcohol use is common. The mechanism underlying significantly higher PEth levels in newborns compared with their mothers is not known.
