Associations Between Gestational Age at Birth and Alcohol Use in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

Abstract

Background The relationship between gestational age at birth and alcohol use measures in early adulthood was examined in a large UK community-based birth cohort (ALSPAC). Methods A series of linear and logistic regression models were used to test for main effects of a continuous measure of gestational age at birth (GA) on a range of alcohol use measures, and moderation of these associations by sex. In addition, mediation analyses assessed the extent to which significant associations between GA and alcohol use operated indirectly, through influences of the parental environment and/or childhood measures of emotional and behavioral health. Results Earlier GA significantly predicted never drinking by age 18, but was not associated with other measures of alcohol use behavior among young adult drinkers (i.e. SRE, AUDIT, or DSM-IV-TR Criteria for Alcohol Dependence). The association between earlier GA and never drinking by age 18 was moderated by sex, such that females born early were less likely to have ever had a drink by age 18. In the full sample, childhood measures of emotional and behavioral health were found to mediate the association between earlier GA and never drinking by age 18. This association was not mediated by parenting factors. Conclusions Earlier GA is associated with never drinking alcohol in early adulthood, in females. Emotional and behavioral difficulties experienced in early childhood may mediate the relationship between earlier GA and never drinking by age 18.

Male-female differences in the onset of heavy drinking episode soon after first full drink in contemporary United States: From early adolescence to young adulthood

“…We do not interpret this study's estimates in terms of causal relationships linking age of first drink and the development of rapid-onset HDE because age of first drink clearly is not assigned at random; it apparently depends upon uncontrolled background susceptibility traits such as gestational age, tendencies to engage in socially maladaptive behavior and norm violations, as well as one's chances to try an alcoholic beverage precociously (Do et al, 2016; Kuntsche et al, 2016). Rather, our new discovery shows age-varying male-female differences in HDE occurrence during a relatively short time after the first full drink.…”