PCPs can do more to help prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

The CDC has recommended that health care providers, including PCPs, conduct regular alcohol screening and counseling to identify women who are pregnant, or may become pregnant, and at risk for exposing their developing baby to alcohol.

Speaking during a media conference call, CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, MD, said physicians should ideally be screening and offering brief counseling for alcohol to all adult patients, but that it is particularly important for women between the ages of 15 to 44 years. Such screenings can take 6 to 15 minutes, she said.

“This can take just a few minutes, and in a busy practice a few minutes is precious, but this is one of those interventions that is effective, cost effective and easy to apply,” Schuchat said. “So, we really want it to be used more commonly. It’s actually pretty uncommon right now to have adults recall being asked about alcohol during a regular checkup, and we think it’s very important for that to be part of a normal evaluation.”

She added that primary care alcohol screening and counseling often occurs during a patient’s first visit, but rarely becomes an annual occurrence.

“It’s not unheard of,” Schuchat said. “Asking about smoking and drinking is part of the regular medical exam, but we know it’s often done the first time you see a clinician, and not done regularly. It’s important to have it done on a regular basis.”

Schuchat made her comments during a conference call regarding a new CDC Vital Signs report on the widespread risk for alcohol-exposed pregnancy, leading to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, among women in the United States.

According to the report, 3 in 4 women who want to become pregnant “as soon as possible” nonetheless do not stop drinking despite ceasing the use of birth control. In addition, approximately 3.3 million women between the ages of 15 and 44 years are at risk for exposing their baby to alcohol in the womb.

The report follows data published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, stating the weighted prevalence of alcohol-exposed pregnancy risk among U.S. women aged 15 to 44 was 7.3%. The researchers based their findings on analyzed data from the 2011 to 2013 National Survey of Family Growth, which contains information on family life, marriage, divorce, pregnancy, infertility, use of birth control and men’s and women’s health. National estimates of alcohol-exposed pregnancy were calculated among 4,303 nonpregnant, nonsterile women aged 15 to 44 years.

“The bottom line here is pretty straight forward: Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can have serious, lifelong consequences for the baby,” Schuchat said. “This is real. Why take the chance?” – by Jason Laday

Reference:

Green PP, et al. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016;doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm654a6er.