Maternal alcohol use and child outcomes New research is closing in on maternal alcohol use disorder and its implications for a spectrum of adverse child health outcomes, says Prof Carol Bower and Dr Colleen O’Leary. In a recent paper using recordlinked data in WA, the effects of maternal alcohol-use disorder were found to be experienced by the majority of exposed children, rather than a vulnerable subgroup of this population. Over half (55%) of nonIndigenous children and 84% of Indigenous children of mothers with an alcohol-use disorder had at least one adverse biological and/or social outcome. The outcomes examined were intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, being small for gestational age, birth defects, preterm birth, stillbirth and infant mortality, poor educational outcomes and school attendance, contact with the justice system
and contact with child protection. These outcomes had earlier been examined and reported separately, but this was the first time they had been examined jointly. The research used routinely linked administrative and research data to identify the outcomes in the offspring of women with and without a record of an alcoholrelated diagnosis, who gave birth in WA between 1983 and 2007. The exposed cohort was defined as births to mothers with an alcoholrelated diagnosis recorded in the hospital morbidity, mental health or alcohol services datasets. The comparison cohort was infants of mothers with no record of an alcohol-related diagnosis,
frequency-matched to the exposed cohort on maternal age within Indigenous status and year of child’s birth. The exposed cohort consisted of 13,969 non-Indigenous and 9,535 Indigenous offspring; the comparison cohort consisted of 40,302 non-Indigenous and 20,533 Indigenous offspring. Analyses were conducted separately by Indigenous status and adjusted for the matching variables and other relevant co-variates. The effect of timing of the recorded alcohol exposure in relation to pregnancy was also examined. continued on Page 29
Temporarily suspended
B
reastScreen WA has temporarily suspended routine breast screening from Monday 30 March 2020.
This is to limit the transmission of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and prioritise the wellbeing of • All women with cancelled appointments will be contacted, as soon as possible. • No new bookings can be made at this time. • We will recommence screening as soon as we are advised it is safe to do so. • Any clients who have been called back for additional tests (assessment) by BreastScreen WA will be assessed as soon as possible. • Women have been asked to contact their GP if they have concerns about their breast health, or develop new symptoms. Thank you for your understanding at this time. Further information on the suspension of service is on BreastScreen WA’s website. If you have any queries please email breastscreenwa@health.wa.gov.au
www.breastscreen.health.wa.gov.au or phone 13 20 50 MEDICAL FORUM | WOMEN 'S HEALTH ISSUE
Mar ‘18
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