Associations of maternal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use with early child growth

Background: Perinatal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use may be detrimental to foetal and infant growth. Aim: This observational study investigated how combined and continued alcohol and non-prescribed substance use throughout antenatal and 1-year postnatal periods were associated with advers...

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Main Authors: Yukiko Washio, Zugui Zhang, Mona Lisa Baishya, Marilyn T. Lake, Bronwyn Myers, Nadia Hoffman, Elizabeth Goddard, Heather J. Zar, Dan J. Stein, Petal Petersen Williams
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2025-06-01
Series:South African Journal of Psychiatry
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Online Access:https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/2486
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author Yukiko Washio
Zugui Zhang
Mona Lisa Baishya
Marilyn T. Lake
Bronwyn Myers
Nadia Hoffman
Elizabeth Goddard
Heather J. Zar
Dan J. Stein
Petal Petersen Williams
author_facet Yukiko Washio
Zugui Zhang
Mona Lisa Baishya
Marilyn T. Lake
Bronwyn Myers
Nadia Hoffman
Elizabeth Goddard
Heather J. Zar
Dan J. Stein
Petal Petersen Williams
author_sort Yukiko Washio
collection DOAJ
description Background: Perinatal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use may be detrimental to foetal and infant growth. Aim: This observational study investigated how combined and continued alcohol and non-prescribed substance use throughout antenatal and 1-year postnatal periods were associated with adverse child length and weight outcomes up to 24 months. Setting: Data from participants (n = 1098) with information on alcohol and non-prescribed substance use and infant and child outcomes, were drawn from a prospective birth cohort in the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS), conducted in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Methods: Generalised estimating equations were conducted on standardised child length and weight outcomes at 12, 18 and 24 months. Results: Non-prescribed substances consisted mostly of tobacco use (77%). Child length and weight were significantly lower in those exposed to the combined use of alcohol and substances compared to no-use and all other use groups (p  0.001), as confirmed by multivariable analyses. Child length and weight were also significantly lower in those exposed to alcohol and/or substance use throughout the antenatal and 1-year postnatal periods, as confirmed by multivariable analyses. Conclusion: Interventions to address the potential long-term adverse effects of combined alcohol and substance use particularly tobacco use, as well as continuous use throughout antenatal and early postnatal periods on subsequent child growth, are needed. Contribution: This study has contributed to the field by showing that combined and continued use of alcohol and other substances during pregnancy and postpartum is associated with impaired early child growth.
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spelling doaj-art-2350fb92ef7c41b8a3adbf56fa57ca702025-08-20T03:28:34ZengAOSISSouth African Journal of Psychiatry1608-96852078-67862025-06-01310e1e910.4102/sajpsychiatry.v31i0.2486787Associations of maternal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use with early child growthYukiko Washio0Zugui Zhang1Mona Lisa Baishya2Marilyn T. Lake3Bronwyn Myers4Nadia Hoffman5Elizabeth Goddard6Heather J. Zar7Dan J. Stein8Petal Petersen Williams9Women’s Global Health Imperative, RTI International, Media, Pennsylvania Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaiREACH, Christiana Care, Newark, DelawareCollege of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaSAMRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape TownenAble Institute, Curtin University, BentleySAMRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape TownSAMRC Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cape Town, Cape TownSAMRC Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cape Town, Cape TownSAMRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape TownMental Health, Alcohol, Substance Use and Tobacco Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council Institute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Cape TownBackground: Perinatal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use may be detrimental to foetal and infant growth. Aim: This observational study investigated how combined and continued alcohol and non-prescribed substance use throughout antenatal and 1-year postnatal periods were associated with adverse child length and weight outcomes up to 24 months. Setting: Data from participants (n = 1098) with information on alcohol and non-prescribed substance use and infant and child outcomes, were drawn from a prospective birth cohort in the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS), conducted in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Methods: Generalised estimating equations were conducted on standardised child length and weight outcomes at 12, 18 and 24 months. Results: Non-prescribed substances consisted mostly of tobacco use (77%). Child length and weight were significantly lower in those exposed to the combined use of alcohol and substances compared to no-use and all other use groups (p  0.001), as confirmed by multivariable analyses. Child length and weight were also significantly lower in those exposed to alcohol and/or substance use throughout the antenatal and 1-year postnatal periods, as confirmed by multivariable analyses. Conclusion: Interventions to address the potential long-term adverse effects of combined alcohol and substance use particularly tobacco use, as well as continuous use throughout antenatal and early postnatal periods on subsequent child growth, are needed. Contribution: This study has contributed to the field by showing that combined and continued use of alcohol and other substances during pregnancy and postpartum is associated with impaired early child growth.https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/2486pregnancyearly postpartuminfant child lengthinfant child weightcombined alcohol and substance use
spellingShingle Yukiko Washio
Zugui Zhang
Mona Lisa Baishya
Marilyn T. Lake
Bronwyn Myers
Nadia Hoffman
Elizabeth Goddard
Heather J. Zar
Dan J. Stein
Petal Petersen Williams
Associations of maternal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use with early child growth
South African Journal of Psychiatry
pregnancy
early postpartum
infant child length
infant child weight
combined alcohol and substance use
title Associations of maternal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use with early child growth
title_full Associations of maternal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use with early child growth
title_fullStr Associations of maternal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use with early child growth
title_full_unstemmed Associations of maternal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use with early child growth
title_short Associations of maternal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use with early child growth
title_sort associations of maternal alcohol and non prescribed substance use with early child growth
topic pregnancy
early postpartum
infant child length
infant child weight
combined alcohol and substance use
url https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/2486
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