2014 By Andrew M. Seaman

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children who are diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder are at higher risk of having impaired gross motor skills, according to a review of past studies.
Balance, coordination and ball skills were the areas where children exposed to alcohol in the womb had the most problems, researchers found.
“This is biologically plausible as alcohol is a teratogen which causes damage to the developing brain,” Barbara Lucas told Reuters Health in an email. “Areas of the brain that may be damaged include those which are important for motor control.”

The researchers found 14 studies to include in the analysis and were able to combine data from 10 of those studies.
Overall, the odds of a child having gross motor skill impairment tripled when the child had a FASD diagnosis or was exposed to a moderate to heavy amount of alcohol while in the womb.

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Over 400 conditions co-occur with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), study finds
January 5, 2016

Researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified 428 distinct disease conditions that co-occur in people with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), in the most comprehensive review of its kind.

The results were published today in The Lancet.
"We've systematically identified numerous disease conditions co-occurring with FASD, which underscores the fact that it isn't safe to drink any amount or type of alcohol at any stage of pregnancy, despite the conflicting messages the public may hear," says Dr. Lana Popova, Senior Scientist in Social and Epidemiological Research at CAMH, and lead author on the paper. "Alcohol can affect any organ or system in the developing fetus."
FASD is a broad term describing the range of disabilities that can occur in individuals as a result of alcohol exposure before birth. The severity and symptoms vary, based on how much and when alcohol was consumed, as well as other factors in the mother's life such as stress levels, nutrition and environmental influences. The effects are also influenced by genetic factors and the body's ability to break down alcohol, in both the mother and foetus.
Different Canadian surveys suggest that between six and 14 per cent of women drink during pregnancy.

The 428 co-occurring conditions were identified from 127 studies included in The Lancet review. These disease conditions, coded in the International Classification of Disease (ICD-10), affected nearly every system of the body, including the central nervous system (brain), vision, hearing, cardiac, circulation, digestion, and musculoskeletal and respiratory systems, among others.
While some of these disorders are known to be caused by alcohol exposure - such as developmental and cognitive problems, and certain facial anomalies - for others, the association with FASD does not necessarily represent a cause-and-effect link.

Problems range from communications disorders to hearing loss
However, many disorders occurred more often among those with FASD than the general population. Based on 33 studies representing 1,728 individuals with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), the most severe form of FASD, the researchers were able to conduct a series of meta-analyses to establish the frequency with which 183 disease conditions occurred.
More than 90 per cent of those with FAS had co-occurring problems with conduct. About eight in 10 had communications disorders, related to either understanding or expressing language. Seven in 10 had developmental/cognitive disorders, and more than half had problems with attention and hyperactivity.

Because most studies were from the U.S., the frequency of certain co-occurring conditions was compared with the general U.S. population. Among people with FAS, the frequency of hearing loss was estimated to be up to 129 times higher than the general U.S. population, and blindness and low vision were 31 and 71 times higher, respectively.
"Some of these other co-occurring problems may lead people to seek professional help," says Rd. Popova. "The issue is that the underlying cause of the problem, alcohol exposure before birth, may be overlooked by the clinician and not addressed."

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