Maternal age and congenital optic nerve hypoplasia: a possible clue to etiology.

The maternal age of two groups of children with congenital handicaps, cerebral palsy and fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), were examined and compared with a group of mothers of children with congenital optic-nerve hypoplasia (CONH). The maternal age of children with CONH was significantly less than for the cerebral-palsied children which, in turn, was significantly less than for the FAS children. In addition, about one-half of the children with CONH had associated handicaps which clustered into four progressively more severe combinations. Maternal age and the occurrence of endocrine problems did not differ significantly among the clusters.