A case-control study of maternal alcohol consumption and intrauterine growth retardation.

PURPOSE Heavy maternal drinking during pregnancy causes fetal alcohol syndrome, but whether more moderate alcohol consumption is associated with such adverse pregnancy outcomes as intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) remains controversial. METHODS Using data from a case-control study, we examined the association between maternal alcohol consumption and risk for IUGR among 701 case and 336 control infants born during 1993-1995 in Monroe County, New York. RESULTS Our results provide no evidence of an independent association between moderate maternal alcohol consumption (<14 drinks per week) and risk for IUGR. The risk for IUGR among heavy drinkers (> or =14 drinks per week) around the time of conception was OR = 1.4 (95% CI 0.7-2.6) for IUGR < or = 5th percentile and OR = 1.4 (95% CI 0.7-2.8) for IUGR 5th-10th percentile. For heavy drinkers during the first trimester, the OR was 1.3 (95% CI 0.4-4.5) for IUGR < or = 5th percentile and OR = 1.3 (95% CI 0.4-4.8) for IUGR 5th-10th percentile. CONCLUSIONS Since IUGR is a heterogeneous outcome with a possible multifactorial origin, further studies are needed to examine the combined effects of alcohol and other environmental and genetic factors on IUGR risk for subgroups of IUGR.