Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2018 Feb;59(2):110-118. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12794. Epub 2017 Sep 11.
Alcohol intake during pregnancy is considered to be a risk factor for child development. Child biomarkers of intrauterine alcohol exposure have been rarely studied. We investigated whether a meconium alcohol metabolite (ethyl glucuronide, EtG) was associated with cognitive development, ADHD-related behaviour and neurophysiological markers of attention and executive control of children at primary-school age.
Mothers provided self-report on prenatal alcohol consumption during their 3rd trimester. Meconium samples were collected at birth. A total of 44 children with a meconium EtG above the detection limit (≥10 ng/g) and 44 nonexposed matched controls were compared. A second threshold (≥154 ng/g) was applied to study the dose effects. When children reached primary-school age, mothers rated ADHD-related behaviour, child cognitive development was measured using an IQ test battery, and event-related potentials were recorded during a cued go/nogo task.
Children in both EtG-positive groups allocated fewer attentional resources than controls to the go/nogo task (reduced P3 component in go-trials). Children with a meconium EtG above 154 ng/g were also found to have an IQ that was six points lower than the other groups. Within the EtG ≥ 154 ng/g group, there was a positive correlation between EtG value and ADHD-related behaviour. These significant effects were not observed in relation to the maternal self-report data.
Associations between EtG and cognitive deficits, attentional resource capacity and ADHD-related behaviour could be documented with effects that were partially dose-dependent. In addition to maternal self-reports, this biomarker of intrauterine alcohol exposure may be considered as a predictor of child development.
孕期饮酒被认为是儿童发育的一个风险因素。胎儿酒精暴露的儿童生物标志物很少被研究。我们调查了胎粪中酒精代谢物（乙基葡萄糖醛酸苷，EtG）是否与儿童在小学年龄的认知发展、ADHD 相关行为和注意及执行控制的神经生理标记物有关。
母亲在妊娠晚期提供自我报告的产前饮酒情况。在出生时收集胎粪样本。将 44 名胎粪 EtG 检测值超过检测限（≥10ng/g）的儿童和 44 名无暴露匹配对照进行比较。还应用了第二个阈值（≥154ng/g）来研究剂量效应。当儿童达到小学年龄时，母亲对 ADHD 相关行为进行评分，使用智商测试量表测量儿童认知发展，在提示 Go/NoGo 任务中记录事件相关电位。
两个 EtG 阳性组的儿童在 Go/NoGo 任务中分配给注意力资源的数量均少于对照组（Go 试验中 P3 成分减少）。胎粪 EtG 值超过 154ng/g 的儿童的智商也比其他组低 6 分。在 EtG≥154ng/g 组中，EtG 值与 ADHD 相关行为呈正相关。这些显著影响与母亲的自我报告数据无关。
可以记录到 EtG 与认知缺陷、注意力资源能力和 ADHD 相关行为之间的关联，部分关联具有剂量依赖性。除了母亲的自我报告外，这种胎儿酒精暴露的生物标志物也可以作为儿童发育的预测因子。
