A Case-Control Study of Maternal Alcohol Consumption and Intrauterine Growth Retardation

Yang, Quanhe; Witkiewicz, Bernadette B; Olney, Richard S; Liu, Yecai; Davis, Margarett; Khoury, Muin J; Correa, Adolfo; Erickson, J.David

« Previous Next »Annals of Epidemiology
Volume 11, Issue 7 , Pages 497-503, October 2001

A Case-Control Study of Maternal Alcohol Consumption and Intrauterine Growth Retardation

Quanhe Yang, PhD
- National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA
- Address reprint requests to: Quanhe Yang, the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, MS F-45, Atlanta, GA 30341
Bernadette B Witkiewicz, MS
- Monroe County Department of Health, Rochester, NY USA
Richard S Olney, MD, MPH
- National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA
Yecai Liu, MS
- National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA
Margarett Davis, MD, MPH
- Global AIDS Program, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA
Muin J Khoury, MD, PhD
- Office of Genetics and Disease Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA
Adolfo Correa, MD, PhD
- National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA
J.David Erickson, DDS, PhD
- National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA

Received 20 November 2000; received in revised form 21 March 2001; accepted 28 March 2001.

Abstract

PURPOSE: Heavy maternal drinking during pregnancy causes fetal alcohol syndrome, but whether more moderate alcohol consumption is associated with such adverse pregnancy outcomes as intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) remains controversial.

METHODS: Using data from a case-control study, we examined the association between maternal alcohol consumption and risk for IUGR among 701 case and 336 control infants born during 1993-1995 in Monroe County, New York.

RESULTS: Our results provide no evidence of an independent association between moderate maternal alcohol consumption (<14 drinks per week) and risk for IUGR. The risk for IUGR among heavy drinkers (⩾14 drinks per week) around the time of conception was OR = 1.4 (95% CI 0.7–2.6) for IUGR ⩽ 5th percentile and OR = 1.4 (95% CI 0.7–2.8) for IUGR 5th–10th percentile. For heavy drinkers during the first trimester, the OR was 1.3 (95% CI 0.4–4.5) for IUGR ⩽ 5th percentile and OR = 1.3 (95% CI 0.4–4.8) for IUGR 5th–10th percentile.

CONCLUSIONS: Since IUGR is a heterogeneous outcome with a possible multifactorial origin, further studies are needed to examine the combined effects of alcohol and other environmental and genetic factors on IUGR risk for subgroups of IUGR.

Keywords: Alcohol Drinking, Pregnancy, Birthweight, IUGR, Case-Control Study