Prenatal alcohol exposure and offspring subsequent alcohol use: A systematic review

Bereket Duko; Gavin Pereira; Robert J Tait; Asres Bedaso; John Newnham; Kim Betts; Rosa Alati

doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109324

Prenatal alcohol exposure and offspring subsequent alcohol use: A systematic review

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2022 Mar 1:232:109324. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109324. Epub 2022 Jan 20.

Authors

Bereket Duko¹, Gavin Pereira², Robert J Tait³, Asres Bedaso⁴, John Newnham⁵, Kim Betts⁶, Rosa Alati⁷

Affiliations

¹ Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia. Electronic address: b.adema@postgrad.curtin.edu.au.
² Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; Centre for Fertility and Health (CeFH), Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway; enAble Institute, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia.
³ enAble Institute, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; National Drug Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, 7 Parker Place Building 609, Level 2 Technology Park, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia.
⁴ Australian Centre for Public and Population Health Research, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.
⁵ Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 17 Monash Ave, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia.
⁶ Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia.
⁷ Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; Institute for Social Sciences Research, The University of Queensland, 80 Meier's Rd, Indooroopilly, Qld 4068 Australia.

PMID: 35077957
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109324

Abstract

Background: Prenatal alcohol exposure has been found to be associated with adverse physical and mental health outcomes in postnatal life, but the evidence is equivocal as to whether such exposure increases the risk of subsequent alcohol use in the offspring. We systematically reviewed the literature on the association between prenatal alcohol exposure and subsequent alcohol use in the offspring.

Methods: Relevant primary studies were identified via systematic search of PubMed/Medline, SCOPUS, EMBASE and Psych-INFO databases. Articles were also retrieved by reviewing reference lists of the identified studies. Literature searches did not have language and date limits but were restricted to human studies. The revised Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the studies included in this review. The protocol of this study was prospectively registered in the PROSPERO.

Results: Twelve observational studies, published between 1998 and 2020, were included in the final review. Eight studies (66.7%) reported an increased risk of alcohol use or increased level of alcohol drinking, two studies (16.7%) reported an increased risk of alcohol use disorder and one study (8.3%) reported an increased odds of alcohol sipping in offspring exposed to maternal prenatal alcohol use compared to non-exposed. However, one study (8.3%) reported insufficient statistical evidence for an association between prenatal alcohol exposure and offspring subsequent alcohol use. However, it should be noted that the large amount of variability across studies included in this review may limit more conclusive inference.

Conclusion: The findings of this review suggest a positive link between prenatal alcohol exposure and offspring's subsequent alcohol use. However, further mechanistic studies that allow stronger causal inference are warranted to further elucidate specific causal pathways.

Keywords: Alcohol use; Alcohol use initiation; Offspring; Prenatal; Systematic review.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Alcohol Drinking / adverse effects
Alcoholism* / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Pregnancy
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects* / epidemiology
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects* / psychology