Researchers have used artificial intelligence to analyze three-dimensional images of the faces of several thousand boys and girls of various ethnicities, taken at the ages of 9 and 13, and have matched certain features of the faces with alcohol consumption by mothers before birth. pregnancy or during it.
The authors of the study have found a relationship between changes in the shape of the face of boys and girls and the amount of alcohol their mothers drank, both before becoming pregnant and during pregnancy.
This study is the first to detect such an association in the sons and daughters of mothers who drank alcohol up to three months before becoming pregnant but stopped during pregnancy.
In addition, the study has found that the association with the group of alterations of the face exists even in the cases in which the mothers drank less than 12 grams of alcohol per week, the equivalent of a small glass of 175 milliliters of wine or a a large 330 milliliter glass of beer.
The finding is important because the shape of children’s faces can be an indication of health and developmental problems, as stressed by Gennady Roshchupkin, from the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and co-author of the study. “I would say that the face is a ‘mirror of health’, as it reflects the overall health of the individual. A child’s exposure to alcohol before birth can have significant adverse effects on their development and health and, if a mother regularly drink a large amount of alcohol, this can lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which is seen in the faces of children.”
Left column: alcohol exposure only before pregnancy. Middle column: Prenatal alcohol exposure during the first trimester, but abstinence during the second and third trimesters. Right column: prenatal alcohol exposure during the first trimester, or prenatal alcohol exposure during all trimesters. The top row corresponds to 9 years of age. The lower one, at 13. The red zones refer to changes inwards of the face with respect to the geometric center of the head. The blue zones refer to changes out of the face. (Image: Human Reproduction journal)
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is defined as a combination of growth retardation, neurological impairment, and recognizable abnormal facial development. Symptoms include cognitive decline, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning difficulties, memory problems, behavior problems, and speech and language delays.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is already known to be caused by the mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy, especially in large amounts. However, until now little was known about the effect of low alcohol consumption on children’s facial development and, therefore, on their health.
This is also the first study to examine the issue in children of multiple ethnic backgrounds.
The study is titled “Association between prenatal alcohol exposure and children’s facial shape: a prospective population-based cohort study”. And it has been published in the academic journal Human Reproduction. (Fountain: NCYT de Amazings)