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Alcol:un drink al giorno
danneggia la crescita dei bimbi
(17
Ottobre 2002)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - I bambini, le cui mamme
bevono alcolici durante la gravidanza, mostrano gli effetti 14 anni più
tardi sotto forma di una crescita rallentata. Lo hanno affermato ieri alcuni
ricercatori americani.
L'Università di Pittsburgh ha scoperto che
perfino un bicchiere di alcol al giorno -- che una volta si pensava essere
innocuo -- potrebbe avere delle conseguenze sul bambino negli anni
dell'adolescenza e anche oltre. I ricercatori hanno scoperto che esiste un
collegamento tra le donne che bevono durante la gravidanza e il peso e
l'altezza dei loro bambini in futuro.
"Bambini le cui madri hanno bevuto almeno un
bicchiere al giorno durante i primi tre mesi pesano di media fino a 7 Kg di
meno rispetto agli altri bambini", ha detto Nancy Day, un'epidemiologa che
ha condotto lo studio.
E' il primo importante studio che dimostra che
il danno provocato anche da un moderato uso di alcolici durante la
gravidanza continua fino all'adolescenza, ed è uno dei pochi che dimostra
che perfino un solo bicchiere può avere effetti.
"Ciò che mi ha sorpreso è di aver verificato
tali conseguenze anche nella pubertà del bambino." ha detto Day. E' risaputo
che i bambini piccoli le cui mamme bevono hanno una crescita rallentata e a
volte difficoltà nell'apprendimento ma si presuppone che i cambiamenti della
pubertà nella crescita aiutino i bambini a superare le mancanze.
Il messaggio è chiaro -- le donne incinta non
possono correre il rischio di bere affatto, anche se non in tutti i bambini
si è verificato un rallentamento della crescita, ha detto.
Per il suo studio, Day ha seguito 565 donne in
gravidanza presso la clinica di Pittsburgh. Le donne sono state seguite dal
quarto mese di gravidanza e i loro figli sono stati studiati fino all'età di
14 anni.
Le sue scoperte sono state riportate nella
pubblicazione di ottobre della rivista "Alcoholism: Clinical and
Experimental Research". |
Contact: Craig Dunhoff
412-647-3555
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Children exposed to alcohol before birth show deficits
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 16 – Children exposed to alcohol in the womb continue to show
effects of that exposure even at age 14, University of Pittsburgh researchers
report.
Further, the results indicate pregnant mothers who consume considerably less
than an average of one drink per day put their children at risk for growth
deficits and that exposure, as early as the first trimester, increases that
likelihood.
The study, in the October journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research,
is one of the first to follow the development of children with prenatal alcohol
exposure into adolescence. Most previous findings have involved children who are
younger, leaving doctors to wonder whether or not the effects of prenatal
alcohol exposure would lessen after children passed through puberty.
"Our findings indicate timing is very important for prevention efforts," said
principal investigator Nancy L. Day, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, pediatrics
and epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "Children
of mothers who drank at least one drink a day during their first trimester weigh
up to 16 pounds less, on average, than children with no exposure."
In the study, Dr. Day found that by the age of 14, children whose mothers drank
during pregnancy fell behind in weight, head circumference, height and skinfold
thickness compared with those whose mothers abstained. The size of the growth
deficits was directly related to the amount of alcohol consumed. The clinical
implications for the children's long-term health are not clear, but the growth
deficits could serve as a potentially permanent marker of prenatal alcohol
exposure. This report did not look at impairments in IQ or other functioning.
The study is one of few that have followed children born to drinking mothers
past early adolescence. Mothers were recruited for the study in their fourth
prenatal month. These women were then interviewed at regular intervals
throughout pregnancy, and then with their children after birth and as the
children grew.
In the study, Dr. Day and her colleagues report there was a substantial decrease
in alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Although 38 percent of the women drank
one or more drinks per day prior to pregnancy, by the first trimester only 18.9
percent of them drank at the same rate. By the third trimester, only 4 percent
reported drinking at the same level.
"The good news from this study is that most women stop or greatly cut down on
drinking as their pregnancies progress," said Dr. Day. "The bad news is that the
first trimester is an important one for a baby's future development and not all
women come in this early for prenatal care. We, as a health care community, need
to address this issue."
There were significant differences in alcohol use by race, income level and
presence of an adult male in the household. In the first trimester, whites were
more likely to drink heavily than were African Americans. However, the white
women were more likely to decrease or abstain from drinking later in pregnancy,
so that by the third trimester, heavy drinkers were predominantly African
American. Monthly income level was lowest among the heavier drinkers and
abstainers and highest among the light and moderate drinkers. Light drinkers had
the highest proportion of males in the household. The effects of prenatal
exposure were still significant after considering these differences.
###
The study is part of the Maternal Health Practices and Child Developmental
Project, a longitudinal study of pregnancy outcomes.
CONTACT: Craig Dunhoff
Lisa Rossi
PHONE: (412) 647-3555
FAX: (412) 624-3184
E-MAIL:
DunhoffCC@upmc.edu
RossiL@upmc.edu
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