A little alcohol in pregnancy puts future generations at risk

Previous studies have shown that alcohol use and related disorders pose a significant threat to global health. Exposure to moderate amounts of alcohol in utero or during early life puts humans at greater risk for alcohol abuse in adolescence and adulthood.

Factors affecting teen drinking habits are varied and complex. They include the desire to engage in risk-taking and rebellious behavior, as well as the wish to impress and to sustain popularity among peers.

Alcohol exposure can begin early, during pregnancy, through breastfeeding or when participating in festive occasions. One study shows that 39% of 8-10-year-old children in Pennsylvania had drunk or sipped alcohol.

The contexts in which alcohol is consumed have been linked to the quantities and rates of consumption, affecting the decision to partake of a glass of wine with dinner or indulge in a binge-drinking session.

Scientists have found a significantly higher rate of alcohol use disorder among adolescents born to mothers who consumed three or more drinks when pregnant, compared with those whose mothers did not drink.

An increased propensity to drink is thought to be linked to prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) altering the neurophysiological response to the challenge of alcohol.

Between 10-15% of American women are estimated to drink some alcohol during pregnancy.

Just four glasses can affect offspring

Nicole Cameron, assistant professor of psychology at Binghamton University in New York, and colleagues collaborated with Michael Nizhnikov, of South Connecticut University, to investigate the effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy on alcohol-related behavior in future generations.

To examine the effect, they gave pregnant rats the equivalent of one glass of wine each day for 4 consecutive days, during the rat equivalent of the second trimester in humans.

They then tested young offspring of both genders for water or alcohol consumption over two subsequent generations, to find out if rats whose mothers or grandmothers had consumed alcohol while pregnant were more likely to consume it themselves.

To evaluate sensitivity to alcohol, they looked at the righting reflex, or the ability to return the body to its default position, in this case, from lying down to standing up.

Adolescent male rats received a high dose of alcohol, which rendered them unresponsive and drunk on their backs. The team measured how long it took the rats to recover their senses and get back on their four paws.