Alcohol in Mothers and Height Reduction

Fetal Alcohol-Related Growth Restriction from Birth through Young Adulthood and Moderating Effects of Maternal Prepregnancy Weight.

"Nearly 480 mothers were recruited at their first prenatal clinic visit to overrepresent moderate-to-heavy use of alcohol during pregnancy, including a 5% random sample of low-level drinkers and abstainers. They were interviewed at every prenatal visit about their alcohol consumption using a timeline follow-back approach. Their children were examined for weight, length/height, and head circumference at birth, 6.5 and 13 months, and 7.5, 14, and 19 years.

In multiple regression models with repeated measures (adjusted for confounders), prenatal alcohol exposure was associated with longitudinal reductions in weight, height, and weight-for-length/BMI that were largely determined at birth. At low-to-moderate levels of exposure, these effects were more severe in infancy than in later childhood. By contrast, effects persisted among children whose mothers drank at least monthly and among those born to women with alcohol abuse and/or dependence who had consumed ≥ 4 drinks/occasion. In addition, effects on weight, height, and head circumference were markedly stronger among children born to mothers with lower prepregnancy weight.

These findings confirm prior studies demonstrating alcohol-related reductions in weight, height, weight-for-height/BMI, and head circumference that persist through young adulthood. Stronger effects were seen among children born to mothers with smaller prepregnancy weight, which may have been because of attainment of higher blood alcohol concentrations in smaller mothers for a given amount of alcohol intake or to increased vulnerability in infants born to women with poorer nutrition."

"insufficient maternal energy intake, prepregnancy weight, and gestational weight gain are each risk factors for IUGR[intrauterine growth retardation]"

"[There were] changes in the expression of genes related to stress and external stimulus responses, transcriptional regulation, cellular homeostasis, and protein metabolism among pregnant, EtOH-exposed rats fed 70% of a normal diet that were not present in rats exposed only to alcohol or the reduced diet."

"[height reduction] did not appear to be dose dependent (i.e., linear) but were seen primarily in infants whose mothers averaged 4 or more standard drinks/d."

"The effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on postnatal growth were no longer significant after controlling for size at birth, suggesting that they are primarily a consequence of prenatal growth restriction, the effects of which persist well into early adulthood."

"Among children born to smaller mothers, the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on head circumference were markedly stronger, with heavy exposure resulting in a reduction of 2.4 cm, adjusted for age and sex."