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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

First-Trimester Maternal Alcohol Consumption and the Risk of Infant Oral Clefts in Norway: A Population-based Case-Control Study
American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access published online on July 30, 2008


Although alcohol is a recognized teratogen, evidence is limited on alcohol intake and oral cleft risk.

The authors examined the association between maternal alcohol consumption and oral clefts in a national, population-based case-control study of infants born in 1996–2001 in Norway.

Compared with nondrinkers, women who reported binge-level drinking (≥5 drinks per sitting) were more likely to have an infant with cleft lip with or without cleft palate (odds ratio = 2.2, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 4.2) and cleft palate only (odds ratio = 2.6, 95% confidence interval: 1.2, 5.6). Odds ratios were higher among women who binged on three or more occasions: odds ratio = 3.2 for cleft lip with or without cleft palate (95% confidence interval: 1.0, 10.2) and odds ratio = 3.0 for cleft palate only (95% confidence interval: 0.7, 13.0).

Maternal binge-level drinking may increase the risk of infant clefts.

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