Drinking While Pregnant Puts Babies At Risk for Cancer
Reported May 06, 2010
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy may be putting their unborn child at risk for a rare form of cancer.
Each year, about 700 children are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to Julie Ross, Ph.D., director of the division of pediatric epidemiology and clinical research at the University of Minnesota.
“It’s quite rare, so we want to be careful about worrying parents too much,” Dr. Ross was quoted as saying. Dr. Ross and lead researcher Paule Latino-Martel, Ph.D., research director at the Research Center for Human Nutrition in France, agree these findings should strengthen the public health recommendation against alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
Dr. Latino-Martel and colleagues analyzed 21 case control studies. Alcohol intake during pregnancy, defined as a response to a yes or no question, was associated with a 56 percent increased risk of AML in children. The risk of AML was higher in children aged 0 to 4 years at diagnosis. There was no significant association with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
“Despite the current recommendation that pregnant women should not drink alcohol during pregnancy,” Dr. Latino-Martel was quoted as saying, “alcohol consumption during pregnancy is 12 percent in the United States, 30 percent in Sweden, 52 percent in France, 59 percent in Australia and 60 percent in Russia.”
SOURCE: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, May 6, 2010