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Abstract #156843

Leigh Tenkku, MPH, Daniel S. Morris, MS, Joanne Salas, BA, Pamela K. Xaverius, PhD, and Mark B. Mengel, MD. School of Medicine, Saint Louis University, Department of Community and Family Medicine, 1402 South Grand Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63104, 314-977-8481, tenkku@slu.edu

Background: In the United States, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is more common in the Black population than among Whites, though White women are more likely to drink and binge drink before pregnancy. Racial differences in drinking cessation may help explain the disparity in FAS rates.

Methods: Subjects were 300,367 non-Hispanic Black and White pregnant and non-pregnant women aged 18-44, respondents from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2001-2005 data sets. Predictors of alcohol consumption (in drinks per month) and binge drinking (>4 drinks on one occasion) by pregnant and non-pregnant women are identified, and significant interactions of income, education, and race were explored using analysis of variance.

Results: In the non-pregnant group, a greater percentage of White women drank and binge drank compared to Black women. The trend reverses for pregnant women, with Black women drinking and binge drinking more often. White women are 2.1 times more likely than Black women to stop drinking altogether, and 2.6 times more likely to quit binge drinking, upon becoming pregnant. Education, income, and race significantly contribute to a woman reducing the number of drinks per month upon becoming pregnant. The percent difference in binge drinking days between pregnant and non-pregnant women is greater for Whites (85%) than Blacks (56%).

Conclusions: White women appear more likely to reduce or suspend alcohol consumption during pregnancy than Black women, even after controlling for income and education.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe differential rates in alcohol use between White and Black pregnant and non-pregnant women.
• Construct methodology using multiple years of a large national database (BRFSS) to examine racial differences in drinking patterns.

Keywords: Alcohol Use, Pregnancy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.