Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Rates Possibly 400 Percent Higher Due To Misdiagnosis

New statistics regarding Fetal Alcohol Syndrome have revealed that the situation is far more widespread than previously believed. In fact, at one in 20 children being prone to FASD, this puts the numbers between 13 and 400 percent greater than were previously recorded. The latest research from teams funded by the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism examined four separate regions of the US: the Southeast, Midwest, the Rocky Mountains region and the Pacific Southwest. Nearly 7,000 first-graders from each location were tested for signs of disorders related to fetal alcohol syndrome.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PREGNANT &amp; DRINK ALCOHOL: Seems to be pretty certain he had fetal alcohol syndrome. | Before you drink … THINK <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FloridaSchoolShooting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FloridaSchoolShooting</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NikolasCruz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NikolasCruz</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nikolascruzmakarov?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nikolascruzmakarov</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NikolausCruz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NikolausCruz</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Parkland?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Parkland</a> PATRIOTS RETWEET <a href="https://t.co/Cf7hOQyXhI">pic.twitter.com/Cf7hOQyXhI</a></p>&mdash; #INDICTcomey | Registered Voter (@noinourbackyard) <a href="https://twitter.com/noinourbackyard/status/967449766136373248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The Midwest samples had the lowest percentage of FASD related children. In one group of the Rocky Mountain region, around 50 out of every 1,000 children were found to have been affected by a mother's alcohol ingestion during pregnancy. One possible reason for the dramatic jump in numbers from the previous studies is misdiagnosis, according to Dr. Haywood Brown, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), noting that the behavioral symptoms of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder are often confused with the symptoms of attention deficit disorder.

<quote>“Misdiagnosis is very common, and that’s what I think this study exposed.”</quote>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Florida shooter may have had fetal alcohol syndrome<br> <br>Nathalie Brassard, a program director at FASCETS, which works with parents of FASD, told Daily Mail Online Nikolas Cruz, 19, has characteristics of a brain-based condition like FASD.<br> <a href="https://t.co/gXjO9PXOh6">https://t.co/gXjO9PXOh6</a></p>&mdash; Healthy News Daily (@eHealthyDaily) <a href="https://twitter.com/eHealthyDaily/status/964773490984448000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Fetal alcohol disorders can result in developmental issues and facial abnormalities and occur when pregnant women use alcohol. The study suggested some 10% of women in the US drink alcohol during their pregnancy. The condition was not discovered until 1973. According to the experts at ACOG and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there is no "safe amount" of alcohol that women can ingest during pregnancy.

FAS spectrum disorders can result in a wide variety of debilitating side effects:

Difficulty with attention

Difficulty in school (especially with math)

Intellectual disability or low IQ

Small head size

Shorter-than-average height

Low body weight

Poor coordination

Hyperactive behavior

Poor memory

Learning disabilities

Speech and language delays

Poor reasoning and judgment skills

Sleep and sucking problems as a baby

Vision or hearing problems

Problems with the heart, kidneys, or bones

“Alcohol is teratogenic, meaning it causes [disorders to the] central nervous system, and that is well known. But as is true of all teratogens, they do not affect everybody,” Dr. Brown related. Babies are especially vulnerable to such influence during the gestation period. Another recent study from JAMA Psychiatry reported that the number of women who have four or more drinks in a day on a weekly basis has increased to an astounding 58 percent.

More women drinking heavily means more women drinking while pregnant, according to Dr. Brown. Beer and wine are just as potentially harmful as hard liquor when it comes to FAS risk. In some populations, the number of affected infants can be as high as two to five per 100 schoolchildren. There has been some speculation online that the Parkland Florida shooter, Nikolas Cruz may have been born with FASD himself.

Source:

https://science.news/2018-02-26-fetal-alcohol-syndrome-is-grossly-under-reported.html