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Alcohol consumption

Research into alcohol consumption during pregnancy suggests that heavy drinking during pregnancy is associated with behavioural problems and cognitive problems in offspring at three years whereas moderate drinking does not have this association [1].

Birth cohort study evidence sheds further light on the short and longer term effects of alcohol consumption, tracking changes over time. For example, findings suggest that unlike men, women drink more as they get older [2]. In the Millennium Cohort Study, frequent drinking was found most commonly among men and women in management and professional jobs [3]. Research further reveals that binge drinking is common in British men and women throughout adulthood. At age 42 one in three men and one in seven women reported usual alcohol consumption levels indicative of binge drinking. For both genders, teenage heavy drinkers had an increased risk of repeated binge drinking in adulthood [4].

References

Kelly Y, Sacker A, Gray R, Kelly J, Wolke D and Quigley M (2008) 'Light drinking in pregnancy, a risk for behavioural problems and cognitive deficits at 3 years of age' International Journal of Epidemiology. 1-12. doi: 10.1093/je/dyn230
Schoon I and Parsons S, 'Competence in the face of adversity: the influence of early family environment and long term consequences' (2002) Children and Society, 16 (4), 260-72
Bartley M, Kelly Y, Schoon I and Hope S (2004) 'Parent health' in Dex S and Joshi H (eds) Millennium Cohort Study first survey: a user's guide to initial findings, London: Centre for Longitudinal Studies
Jefferis B, Graham H, Manor O and Power C (2003) 'Cigarette consumption and socio-economic circumstances in adolescence as predictors of adult smoking', Addiction, 98 (12): 1765-1772