Assessment of the course of the gestational process using survey method and depending on the laboratory confirmed prenatal alcohol use (cross-section study)

Background. Studying the problem of alcohol consumption by pregnant women using modern laboratory research methods has valuable theoretical and practical significance.

The aim of the study. To determine the characteristics of the pregnancy course in women consuming alcohol in the prenatal period confirmed by survey and laboratory tests, depending on the phosphatidylethanol levels.

Materials and methods. We examined 863 women under observation at the Irkutsk Regional Perinatal Center for the period from 2014 to 2021. To confirm the fact of alcohol consumption in the prenatal period, 545 women were surveyed, 318  women were examined using laboratory analysis. The diagnostic biomarker for  alcohol was  PEth:16:0/18:1. To assign pregnant women to  the control group, a PEth concentration of ≤ 8 ng/ml was taken. If the PEth concentration was > 8 ng/ml, pregnant women were classified as heavy drinkers. Clinical and laboratory indicators of the course of pregnancy and childbirth were carried out in comparative groups.

Results. It has been established that every second woman of reproductive age took alcohol before pregnancy. 24.2 % of women did not stop consuming alcohol in  the  prenatal period. At the same time, the risk of congenital malformations was high, since 20.4 % of women consumed alcohol in the first trimester of pregnancy. Based on the results of the survey, it was revealed that in women who consumed alcohol in the prenatal period, the following pathological conditions are statistically significantly more common: anemia, congenital heart defects in fetuses, prematurity of gestational age, labor anomalies, uterus subinvolution. Based on the results of laboratory confirmation of alcohol consumption, it was established that parity of birth, intrauterine growth retardation, and  premature birth were statistically significantly more often in pregnant women who drink.

Conclusion. Thus, in order to obtain the most meaningful and high-quality results, it is necessary to  conduct larger studies. In addition, maternal blood biomarkers should be used to confirm levels of alcohol consumption throughout all trimesters of pregnancy.

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