Father's alcohol consumption before conception linked to brain and facial defects in offspring
Raising awareness of the role a father's health plays in his offspring's health is just as important as awareness of the mother's contributions from preconception and through gestation.
Web URL: Read this article on Medical Xpress
FAB RESEARCH COMMENT:
This animal study shows that alcohol consumption by fathers before conception produces the same pattern of birth defects in the offspring that has long been associated only with maternal alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy - a syndrome known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)Difficulties in assessing or estimating prenatal alcohol consumption make formal diagnosis of FASD difficult - especially as less severe forms do not show the classic physical facial features, but do still exhibit general learning disabilities, and/or more specific patterns of behavioural and learning difficulties that can mimic common neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and related conditions.
FASD are now estimated to affect as many as 10% of children from the general population, and 30% in high-risk groups such as children in care, in developed countries that now have screening programmes. Similarly, data from a major UK birth cohort study yielded estimates of 7-17%, (the higher figure used multiple imputation to correct for incomplete data). See:
All estimates have only taken into account maternal alcohol consumption - so the implications of this new finding are profound and far-reaching, as summarised in the researchers' conclusions:
"In 1981, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a public health advisory warning that alcohol use by women during pregnancy could cause birth defects.
Since this time, maternal alcohol use during pregnancy has remained the sole explanation for alcohol-related birth defects. In contrast, paternal drinking and lifestyle choices remain unexamined.
Using a physiologically relevant mouse model, our studies are the first to demonstrate that male drinking is a plausible yet completely unexamined factor in the development of alcohol related craniofacial abnormalities and growth deficiencies.
Our study demonstrates the critical need to target both parents in pre-pregnancy alcohol messaging and to expand epidemiological studies to measure the contributions of paternal alcohol use on children's health."
For details of this research, please see
For further information please see:
12/04/2023 - Medical Xpress
--------------------------------
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects in their unborn child. Now, research at Texas A&M University demonstrates that a father's alcohol consumption before conception also links to growth defects that affect the development of his offspring's brain, skull and face.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects in their unborn child. Now, research at Texas A&M University demonstrates that a father's alcohol consumption before conception also links to growth defects that affect the development of his offspring's brain, skull and face.
Research investigating fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) exclusively examines maternal alcohol exposure. However, because men drink more and are more likely to binge drink than women, Dr. Michael Golding, an associate professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences' Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology, and his team set out to challenge the existing dogma, using a mouse model to examine what happens when either the mother, the father, or both parents consume alcohol.
In a new article published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Golding and his team found that male alcohol consumption before conception caused FAS brain and facial growth defects.
"We found that male exposures actually drive certain craniofacial differences much stronger than maternal exposures do, so this programming effect that's coming through sperm has a profound effect on the organization of the face and the growth and proportion of different facial features," Golding said. "When it was the dad drinking, we saw a profound shift in the organization of the face."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), FAS is a fetal disorder caused by maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
FAS is hard to diagnose, but when doing so, doctors currently look for abnormal facial features; lower-than-average weight, height or both; central nervous system problems such as a small head size, problems with attention and hyperactivity or poor coordination; and verification of maternal alcohol use during pregnancy.
"When doctors suspect a child has FAS, they sit down with the mother to confirm the diagnosis by discussing her drinking habits during pregnancy," Golding said. "It's not uncommon for the mother to deny consuming alcohol while pregnant. When they do, there's this stigma or this notion that women are lying about their alcohol use."
Golding said this research reveals a potential blind spot in the current diagnostic criteria for FAS, the most severe form of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), which requires documentation of maternal alcohol use during pregnancy.
"Our research proves there's a plausible alternative explanation—the father's contribution, which has never been examined before," he said. "In this study, we call into question the dismissal of the mother's denial and really examine the capacity of male alcohol use to induce FAS growth defects."
Golding explained that findings from his holistic approach that examines both parents' contributions to FAS reveal the need for two critical changes.
"First is the recognition of the importance of male health in pregnancy outcomes and fetal health," he said.
Golding pointed out that paternal health before conception is a novel consideration in terms of pregnancy outcomes and fetal health; as a result, raising awareness of the role a father's health plays in his offspring's health is just as important as awareness of the mother's contributions from preconception and through gestation.
"Research examining fetal health is overwhelmingly focused on maternal health," he said. "I'm not saying that this is not appropriate; I'm just saying it's not the complete picture and we need some balance.
"The second," he said, "is the fact that both parents are responsible for preventing alcohol-related birth defects."
FAS has significant, life-changing consequences for children.
Because their study identified FAS-related craniofacial differences in offspring born to fathers who regularly consumed alcohol at or more than the legal limit, Golding pointed out that both parents should commit to limiting or omitting their alcohol consumption before trying to become pregnant.
Ultimately, Golding emphasizes that the first step in this process is expanding messaging outreach about the reproductive dangers of alcohol use to both parents.
"Change the alcohol warning label to remove the maternal emphasis and put it on both parents to say, 'The decision to consume this beverage can have significant, life-changing consequences to a future child,'" he said. "Right now, the warning label only conveys part of the story. We must get that message out into the world as quickly as possible."
Food and Behaviour Research is a registered charity (No SC034604) and a company limited by guarantee (Co No SC 253448)
Newsletter Signup
Useful Links
Contact Us
FAB Research
23 Carlton Road
Oxford
OX2 7SA
Important Notice
Medical opinion and guidance should always be sought for any symptoms that might possibly reflect a known or suspected disease, disorder or medical condition. Information provided on this website (or by FAB Research via any other means) does not in any way constitute advice on the treatment of any medical condition formally diagnosed or otherwise.
Site by Redstone Websites. Easy to Use Web Content Management. 2024 © All Rights Reserved.