Abstract
BackgroundHeavy alcohol use during pregnancy can cause considerable developmental problems for children, but effects of light‐moderate drinking are uncertain. This study examined possible effects of moderate drinking in pregnancy on children's conduct problems using a Mendelian randomisation design to improve causal inference.MethodsA prospective cohort study (ALSPAC) followed children from their mother's pregnancy to age 13 years. Analyses were based on 3,544 children whose mothers self‐reported either not drinking alcohol during pregnancy or drinking up to six units per week without binge drinking. Children's conduct problem trajectories were classified as low risk, childhood‐limited, adolescence‐onset or early‐onset‐persistent, using six repeated measures of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire between ages 4–13 years. Variants of alcohol‐metabolising genes in children were used to create an instrumental variable for Mendelian randomisation analysis.ResultsChildren's genotype scores were associated with early‐onset‐persistent conduct problems (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.04–1.60, p = .020) if mothers drank moderately in pregnancy, but not if mothers abstained from drinking (OR = 0.94, CI = 0.72–1.25, p = .688). Children's genotype scores did not predict childhood‐limited or adolescence‐onset conduct problems.ConclusionsThis quasi‐experimental study suggests that moderate alcohol drinking in pregnancy contributes to increased risk for children's early‐onset‐persistent conduct problems, but not childhood‐limited or adolescence‐onset conduct problems.
Highlights
Conduct problems are characterised by antisocial behaviours, such as stealing, lying, fighting and aggressive outbursts, which can cause considerable difficulties for children and families, and result in substantial costs to society (Scott, Knapp, Henderson, & Maughan, 2001)
The current study investigates effects of maternal moderate drinking in pregnancy on children’s conduct problems, and is novel both in using a Mendelian randomisation design and examining different longitudinal trajectories of children’s conduct problems as outcomes
Mendelian randomisation studies examine whether genetic variants that contribute to variation in the environmental risk factor predict the study outcome
Summary
Conduct problems are characterised by antisocial behaviours, such as stealing, lying, fighting and aggressive outbursts, which can cause considerable difficulties for children and families, and result in substantial costs to society (Scott, Knapp, Henderson, & Maughan, 2001). This study examined possible effects of moderate drinking in pregnancy on children’s conduct problems using a Mendelian randomisation design to improve causal inference. Children’s conduct problem trajectories were classified as low risk, childhood-limited, adolescence-onset or early-onset-persistent, using six repeated measures of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire between ages 4–13 years. Results: Children’s genotype scores were associated with early-onset-persistent conduct problems (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.04–1.60, p = .020) if mothers drank moderately in pregnancy, but not if mothers abstained from drinking (OR = 0.94, CI = 0.72–1.25, p = .688). Conclusions: This quasi-experimental study suggests that moderate alcohol drinking in pregnancy contributes to increased risk for children’s early-onset-persistent conduct problems, but not childhood-limited or adolescence-onset conduct problems.
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