Résultats de recherche

1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The aim of this study is to assess whether prenatal exposure to alcohol is associated with effects on fetal growth, visual acuity, and cognitive development in a population where average daily alcohol use is low but binge consumption is common, thereby resulting in infrequent exposure to concentrated levels of alcohol. A second aim is to determine which among several different indicators of alcohol consumption best predicts prenatal growth and development.» (p. 278)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
L’échantillon compte 251 mères du Nunavik.

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

According to the authors, «[i]n this sample where 38.1% of women binged at least once during pregnancy, prenatal exposure was associated with reduced weight and head circumference at birth and poorer visual acuity at 6 months of age. […] In the current study, birth length was not significantly associated with in utero exposure to alcohol. Although past studies have found an association between prenatal alcohol exposure and birth length, these associations have generally been found in cohorts where total alcohol consumption and/or frequency of bingeing were considerably higher than in the current sample. […] It is noteworthy that cigarette smoking during pregnancy was not significantly correlated with any of the prenatal growth parameters assessed in this study and was, therefore, not entered into any of the multiple regression models as a potential confounding variable. […] The second aim of this study was to determine which of four indicators of alcohol consumption best predicted prenatal growth and infant development outcomes. [T]he dichotomous variable binge (yes/no) was consistently associated with the greatest variance in birth weight, head circumference, and visual acuity, whereas frequency of binge consumption explained the least variance.» (p. 282-283)