Prenatal alcohol use as a risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

The objective of the study was to investigate the association between alcohol use during pregnancy and mental disorders in childhood, controlling for confounding risk factors by a longitudinal study of pregnant women and their offspring. The initial cohort comprised pregnant women attending an obstetric service. From the initial sample of 449 pregnant women, 81 mother–child pairs agreed to participate. After 12 years, mother–child pairs were assessed through self-administered questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children—Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) was used to assess the presence of any mental disorders in the children. The mothers were assessed by the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Furthermore, data on the mother’s alcohol use collected during pregnancy were analysed. A logistic regression tested the influence of alcohol consumption in all trimesters and binge drinking on the occurrence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), controlling for covariates. Binge drinking at any time during pregnancy or low–moderate alcohol consumption in all trimesters of pregnancy was associated with a fivefold increased odds of child ADHD. The combination of both patterns of alcohol use added an increase of 19% in the variance of ADHD’s occurrence. The episodic use of at least four drinks or the regular use of low–moderate alcohol doses during pregnancy was associated with significantly increased odds of subsequent child ADHD. Reducing binge drinking and regular alcohol use of pregnant women may lead to a significant decrease in their children developing ADHD.