246060 Prevalence and reduction of alcohol consumption when pregnant across sociodemographic groups in the United States

Tuesday, November 1, 2011: 5:10 PM

Khoa Truong, PhD , Department of Public Health Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
Objectives: To analyze prevalence of maternal drinking and reduction in alcohol consumption when pregnant across subpopulations. Methods: A sample of 284,126 women of childbearing age from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2006-2009 was used in multivariate linear and logistic regression models to estimate adjusted prevalence of alcohol use in past 30 days (any alcohol use, total number of drinks, and binge drinking). Explanatory variables included pregnancy status, education, race, age, marital status, employment, household income, and smoking behavior. Comparison was made within 4 sociodemographic groups: education levels, races, income levels, and age while controlling for other factors. Interaction terms between pregnancy status and sociodemographic characteristics were used to examine plausible differential reduction levels in alcohol consumption when pregnant. Results: Compared to other races, pregnant Hispanic women had the highest adjusted prevalence of any alcohol use (10.8%) and binge drinking (2.9%), and adjusted number of drinks (1.8). Women with higher education reduced alcohol use at higher rates relative to others but the absolute levels were still highest among those with at least a college degree (9.7% any alcohol use and 1.7% binge drinking). Adjusted binge drinking rate was highest among the middle-income women and older women (ages 40-44). Conclusions: When pregnant all women reduced alcohol consumption but differentially. Maternal drinking appears to be the most problematic among Hispanic women, causing potential health problems and disparities for Hispanic newborns. Higher rates of reduction in alcohol use among those with higher education do not imply maternal drinking is less a problem for them.

Learning Areas:
Program planning
Public health or related education
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe the latest prevalence of maternal drinking across sociodemographic groups Analyze underlying causes of differential rates of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders across sociodemographic groups

Keywords: Alcohol Problems, Binge Drinking

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I am the sole researcher and author for the work reported here.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.