Maternal alcohol consumption in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) – Research opportunities

Abstract

The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) is a valuable resource for the study of the effects of maternal alcohol consumption. MoBa's strengths include a population-based sample of over 107,000 pregnancies, concurrent and retrospective assessment of maternal prenatal and postnatal alcohol consumption, and prospective follow-up for pregnancy and child outcomes. Direct questions were asked on the frequency, dose and timing of maternal alcohol consumption. Screening tools including the T-ACE and partial Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index were used to identify women at risk for drinking during pregnancy. Comprehensive information on potential confounders was collected including maternal medical history, reproductive history, smoking, and other substance use. The detailed alcohol data allow the differentiation between non-binge and binge-level drinking, important for studying different thresholds of exposure. The availability of maternal and infant DNA enables the study of genetic differences in alcohol metabolism. Besides conventional analyses, sibship studies of differentially exposed siblings can be conducted among the offspring of over 15,000 women who participated in the study for more than one pregnancy. Although there are low levels of social disadvantage in Norway (poverty increases the risk of harms from prenatal drinking), binge drinking is a common pattern of consumption and previous studies found that drinking alcohol during pregnancy is not uncommon. Here, I provide a brief review of prenatal alcohol literature and measurement issues, describe MoBa alcohol variables, and discuss how MoBa can contribute to maternal alcohol research within the context of Norway.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) (1) is a valuable resource for studying the effects of women's alcohol consumption during pregnancy. MoBa's strengths include a large, populationbased sample of over 107,000 pregnancies among over 90,000 women recruited in early pregnancy in 1999-2008 with prospective follow-up for pregnancy and infant outcomes and long-term follow-up for child health and behavioral outcomes. Detailed information on antenatal and postnatal maternal alcohol consumption was collected in questionnaires completed by mothers during and after the pregnancy. Other relevant maternal characteristics and exposures were collected including medical history, reproductive history, smoking, other substance use, stress, occupation, diet and partner's substance use. In addition, information on complications of pregnancy and delivery, birth outcomes, and diagnoses in the child is available through record linkage to the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN), a mandatory national registry for all pregnancies ending after week 12 (week 16 prior to 2002) (2). Follow up is on-going and there is the opportunity to e...

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