Fetal alcohol syndrome increased psychosocial issues in adulthood

People with fetal alcohol syndrome as children may have a greater level of psychosocial outcomes as they grow older, according to a Swedish study.

The researchers studied 79 adults (mean age, 32 years) from a national register diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome as infants and children (FAS) at the Children’s Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. They compared the patients to an additional 122 patients for psychosocial outcomes.

They found that adults in the FAS group were more likely to have received special education (25% vs. 2%), be unemployed (51% vs. 15%) and receive a disability pension (31% vs. 3%) when compared with the subgroup. However, criminal offenses appeared to be similar, the researchers wrote.

Adults in the FAS group also tended to to be hospitalized more frequently for alcohol abuse (9% vs. 2%) and psychiatric disorders (33% vs. 5%), and more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medications (57% vs. 27%), according to data.

“This study indicates that Swedish adults who were diagnosed with FAS in childhood had diverse psychosocial outcomes as they got older, and that the problems probably are considerably worse than in the general Swedish population,” the researchers concluded.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.