New study finds drinking alcohol during pregnancy alters DNA of infants
Aug 16, 2019, 19:18 IST
While most people would tell you to stay away from alcohol if you’re pregnant, a new study sheds more details. According to the study, drinking moderate to high levels of alcohol might alter the DNA of their babies.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Rutgers University’s earlier study about the same found that drinking heavily and binging alcohol could trigger a long-lasting genetic change in adults.
In this study, researchers found changes in two genes - POMC, which regulates the stress-response system, and PER2, which influences the body's biological clock; in women who drank moderate to high levels of alcohol during pregnancy and in children who had been exposed to those levels of alcohol in the womb.
Heavy drinking is described as four or more drinks on at least five occasions in a month whereas moderate drinking in women is about three drinks per occasion.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders can include physical or intellectual disabilities as well as behavioural and learning problems. While there is no cure, early intervention treatment services can improve a child's development, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study also found that infants exposed to alcohol in the womb - which passes from the mother's blood through the umbilical cord - had increased levels of cortisol, a potentially harmful stress hormone that can suppress the immune system and lead to ongoing health.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Rutgers University’s earlier study about the same found that drinking heavily and binging alcohol could trigger a long-lasting genetic change in adults.
In this study, researchers found changes in two genes - POMC, which regulates the stress-response system, and PER2, which influences the body's biological clock; in women who drank moderate to high levels of alcohol during pregnancy and in children who had been exposed to those levels of alcohol in the womb.
Heavy drinking is described as four or more drinks on at least five occasions in a month whereas moderate drinking in women is about three drinks per occasion.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders can include physical or intellectual disabilities as well as behavioural and learning problems. While there is no cure, early intervention treatment services can improve a child's development, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study also found that infants exposed to alcohol in the womb - which passes from the mother's blood through the umbilical cord - had increased levels of cortisol, a potentially harmful stress hormone that can suppress the immune system and lead to ongoing health.