Briana Lees1, Louise Mewton1, Joanna Jacobus1, Emilio A Valadez1, Lexine A Stapinski1, Maree Teesson1, Susan F Tapert1, Lindsay M Squeglia1. 1. The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia (Lees, Stapinski, Teesson); Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia (Mewton); Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla (Jacobus, Tapert); Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park (Valadez); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston (Squeglia).
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Data on the neurodevelopmental and associated behavioral effects of light to moderate in utero alcohol exposure are limited. This retrospective investigation tested for associations between reported maternal prenatal alcohol use and psychological, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in substance-naive youths. METHODS: Participants were 9,719 youths (ages 9.0 to 10.9 years) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Based on parental reports, 2,518 (25.9%) had been exposed to alcohol in utero. Generalized additive mixed models and multilevel cross-sectional and longitudinal mediation models were used to test whether prenatal alcohol exposure was associated with psychological, behavioral, and cognitive outcomes, and whether differences in brain structure and resting-state functional connectivity partially explained these associations at baseline and 1-year follow-up, after controlling for possible confounding factors. RESULTS: Prenatal alcohol exposure of any severity was associated with greater psychopathology, attention deficits, and impulsiveness, with some effects showing a dose-dependent response. Children with prenatal alcohol exposure, compared with those without, displayed greater cerebral and regional volume and greater regional surface area. Resting-state functional connectivity was largely unaltered in children with in utero exposure. Some of the psychological and behavioral outcomes at baseline and at the 1-year follow-up were partially explained by differences in brain structure among youths who had been exposed to alcohol in utero. CONCLUSIONS: Any alcohol use during pregnancy is associated with subtle yet significant psychological and behavioral effects in children. Women should continue to be advised to abstain from alcohol consumption from conception throughout pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE: Data on the neurodevelopmental and associated behavioral effects of light to moderate in utero alcohol exposure are limited. This retrospective investigation tested for associations between reported maternal prenatal alcohol use and psychological, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in substance-naive youths. METHODS:Participants were 9,719 youths (ages 9.0 to 10.9 years) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Based on parental reports, 2,518 (25.9%) had been exposed to alcohol in utero. Generalized additive mixed models and multilevel cross-sectional and longitudinal mediation models were used to test whether prenatal alcohol exposure was associated with psychological, behavioral, and cognitive outcomes, and whether differences in brain structure and resting-state functional connectivity partially explained these associations at baseline and 1-year follow-up, after controlling for possible confounding factors. RESULTS: Prenatal alcohol exposure of any severity was associated with greater psychopathology, attention deficits, and impulsiveness, with some effects showing a dose-dependent response. Children with prenatal alcohol exposure, compared with those without, displayed greater cerebral and regional volume and greater regional surface area. Resting-state functional connectivity was largely unaltered in children with in utero exposure. Some of the psychological and behavioral outcomes at baseline and at the 1-year follow-up were partially explained by differences in brain structure among youths who had been exposed to alcohol in utero. CONCLUSIONS: Any alcohol use during pregnancy is associated with subtle yet significant psychological and behavioral effects in children. Women should continue to be advised to abstain from alcohol consumption from conception throughout pregnancy.
Authors: Briana Lees; Alexis M Garcia; Jennifer Debenham; Anna E Kirkland; Brittany E Bryant; Louise Mewton; Lindsay M Squeglia Journal: Neuropharmacology Date: 2021-02-16 Impact factor: 5.250
Authors: Briana Lees; Lindsay M Squeglia; Lisa M McTeague; Miriam K Forbes; Robert F Krueger; Matthew Sunderland; Andrew J Baillie; Forrest Koch; Maree Teesson; Louise Mewton Journal: Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging Date: 2020-09-12
Authors: Briana Lees; Elizabeth J Elliott; Steve Allsop; Sue Thomas; Julia Riches; Smriti Nepal; Lauren J Rice; Nicola Newton; Louise Mewton; Maree Teesson; Lexine A Stapinski Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2021-04-05 Impact factor: 2.692
Authors: Evelyne Muggli; Jane Halliday; Elizabeth J Elliott; Anthony Penington; Deanne Thompson; Alicia Jane Spittle; Della Forster; Sharon Lewis; Stephen Hearps; Peter J Anderson Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2022-01-17 Impact factor: 2.692