Who is most affected by prenatal alcohol exposure: Boys or girls?

Objective: To examine outcomes among boys and girls that are associated with prenatal alcohol exposure.

Methods: Boys and girls with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and randomly-selected controls were compared on a variety of physical and neurobehavioral traits.

Results: Sex ratios indicated that heavy maternal binge drinking may have significantly diminished viability to birth and survival of boys postpartum more than girls by age seven.

Indicated Prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in South Africa: Effectiveness of Case Management.

In the Western Cape Province of South Africa (ZA) a subculture of binge drinking produces the highest global documented prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). FASD prevention research activities in ZA use the Comprehensive Prevention approach from the United States Institute of Medicine. Case management (CM) was delivered as a method of indicated prevention to empower heavy drinking pregnant women to achieve cessation or a reduction in drinking.

Alcohol use, working conditions, job benefits, and the legacy of the "Dop" system among farm workers in the Western Cape Province, South Africa: hope despite high levels of risky drinking.

This study describes alcohol consumption in five Western Cape Province communities. Cross-sectional data from a community household sample (n = 591) describe the alcohol use patterns of adult males and females, and farm workers vs. others.

Case Management Reduces Drinking During Pregnancy among High Risk Women.

Aim: Estimate the efficacy of Case Management (CM) for women at high risk for bearing a child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).

Design: Women were recruited from antenatal clinics and engaged in 18 months of CM.

Setting: A South African community with a subculture of heavy, regular, weekend, recreational drinking and high documented rates of FASD.

Maternal alcohol consumption producing fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD): quantity, frequency, and timing of drinking.

Background: Concise, accurate measures of maternal prenatal alcohol use are needed to better understand fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

Methods: Measures of drinking by mothers of children with specific FASD diagnoses and mothers of randomly-selected controls are compared and also correlated with physical and cognitive/behavioral outcomes.

Results: Measures of maternal alcohol use can differentiate maternal drinking associated with FASD from that of controls and some from mothers of alcohol-exposed normals.

Approaching the prevalence of the full spectrum of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in a South African population-based study.

Background: The prevalence and characteristics of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) were determined in this fourth study of first-grade children in a South African community.

Methods: Active case ascertainment methods were employed among 747 first-grade pupils. The detailed characteristics of children within the continuum of FASD are contrasted with randomly selected, normal controls on (i) physical growth and dysmorphology; (ii) cognitive/behavioral characteristics; and (iii) maternal risk factors.

COMPARISON OF BASELINE DRINKING PRACTICES, KNOWLEDGE, AND ATTITUDES OF ADULTS RESIDING IN COMMUNITIES TAKING PART IN THE FAS PREVENTION STUDY IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) has been identified as among the most serious consequences associated with hazardous and harmful drinking in the Western Cape province, South Africa. Community surveys were conducted in two wine growing regions in this province to assess drinking behaviour, guide interventions and serve as a baseline for assessing the impact of population-level interventions. As part of a cross-sectional comparative study interviews were conducted with 384 and 209 randomly selected adults in the prevention (PC) and comparison communities (CC) respectively.