Consistent evidence seen for a link between prenatal alcohol exposure and the shape of the eyes and nose<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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THURSDAY, Feb. 13, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with facial development, and the associations persist to age 6 to 8 years, according to a study published online Feb. 10 in JAMA Pediatrics<\/em>.<\/p>\n Evelyne Muggli, M.P.H., from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Parkville, Australia, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study starting in July 2011 with follow-up through April 2021 to examine whether subtle changes in facial shape with prenatal alcohol exposure found in 12-month-old children were seen at 6 to 8 years of age. Three-dimensional craniofacial images from 549 children of European descent were taken at age 12 months and 6 to 8 years (421 [336 with any prenatal alcohol exposure and 85 control] and 363 [260 with any prenatal alcohol exposure and 103 control] images, respectively); 235 children contributed an image at both time points.<\/p>\n The researchers found consistent evidence for an association between prenatal alcohol exposure and the shape of the eyes and nose at both time points, whether exposure occurred only in trimester 1 or throughout pregnancy. Facial variations were different from those in the clinical discovery sample of facial images of children with a confirmed diagnosis of partial or full fetal alcohol syndrome.<\/p>\n “A linear association between the level of prenatal alcohol exposure and variation in facial shape was not supported, most likely due to a complex association between prenatal alcohol exposure dose and timing and the many molecular pathways affected by alcohol,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n