Alcohol Use Among Pregnant and Non Pregnant Women

Interesting article about alcohol use among pregnant and non pregnant women, United States 1991 – 2005;

Source; (cdc.gov)

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a risk factor for poor birth outcomes, including fetal alcohol syndrome, birth defects, and low birth weight (1). In the United States, the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome is estimated at 0.5–2.0 cases per 1,000 births, but other fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs)* are believed to occur approximately three times as often as fetal alcohol syndrome (2). The 2005 U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on alcohol use in pregnancy, advises women who are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant to abstain from using alcohol (2). Binge drinking is particularly harmful to fetal brain development (2,3). Healthy People 2010 objectives include increasing the percentage of pregnant women who report abstinence from alcohol use to 95% and increasing the percentage who report abstinence from binge drinking to 100% (4). To examine the prevalence of any alcohol use and binge drinking among pregnant women and nonpregnant women of childbearing age in the United States and to characterize the women with these alcohol use behaviors, CDC analyzed 1991–2005 data from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys. The findings indicated that the prevalence of any alcohol use and binge drinking among pregnant and nonpregnant women of childbearing age did not change substantially from 1991 to 2005. During 2001–2005, the highest percentages of pregnant women reporting any alcohol use were aged 35–44 years (17.7%), college graduates (14.4%), employed (13.7%), and unmarried (13.4%). Health-care providers should ask women of childbearing age about alcohol use routinely, inform them of the risks from drinking alcohol while pregnant, and advise them not to drink alcohol while pregnant or if they might become pregnant (2,5).

BRFSS conducts state-based, random-digit–dialed telephone surveys of the noninstitutionalized U.S. civilian population aged ≥18 years, collecting data on health conditions and health risk behaviors. For this report, CDC analyzed BRFSS data from 1991 to 2005 from all 50 states and the District of Columbia for women aged 18–44 years. The median response rate among states, based on Council of American Survey and Research Organizations (CASRO) guidelines, ranged from 71.4% in 1993 to 51.1% in 2005. This report focuses on two drinking behaviors: any use, defined as having at least one drink of any alcoholic beverage in the past 30 days, and binge drinking, defined as having five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past 30 days.† The wording of the question regarding any alcohol use was changed in 1993, 2001, and 2005,§ the wording of the question regarding binge drinking was changed in 1993 and 2001.¶ BRFSS questionnaires are available at http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/questionnaires/questionnaires.htm.

Percentage estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated each year for the two drinking behaviors among pregnant and nonpregnant women. Logistic regression was used to examine the association of age, race/ethnicity, education, employment, and marital status with the two drinking behaviors for pregnant and nonpregnant women with the behaviors as the dependent variables and sociodemographic characteristics as the independent variables in the models. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) were calculated to describe significant differences by characteristic category. Data from 2001–2005 were aggregated to provide stable estimates to assess the association of these characteristics with the drinking behaviors. Data were weighted to state population estimates and aggregated to represent a nationwide estimate.

Click here to read full article

Tags: Alcohol and Pregnancy, Alcohol Use Among Pregnant Women, Drinking Problems, Sobriety, Stop Drinking Alcohol

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 at 1:11 pm and is filed under Get Sober, In The Press. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.