Abstract
Foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a leading cause of developmental disability. Prenatal alcohol use is the sole necessary cause of FASD, but it is not always sufficient. Multiple factors influence a child?s susceptibility to FASD following prenatal alcohol exposure. Much of the FASD risk factor literature has been limited to discussions of association, rather than causation. While knowledge of predictor variables is important for identifying who is most at risk of FASD and for targeting interventions, causal knowledge is important for identifying effective mechanisms for prevention and intervention programmes. We conducted a systematic search and narrative synthesis of the evidence and used this to create a causal diagram (directed acyclic graph; DAG) to describe the causal pathways to FASD. Our results show that the aetiology of FASD is multifaceted and complex. FASD risk is determined by a range of lifestyle, sociodemographic, maternal, social, gestational, and genetic factors. The causal diagram that we present in this review provides a comprehensive summary of causal risk factors for FASD and can be used as a tool to inform data collection and statistical modelling strategies to minimise bias in future studies of FASD.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 575-594 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry |
Volume | 29 |
Early online date | 16 Jan 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2020 |
Keywords
- Foetal alcohol spectrum disorders
- causal diagram
- directed acyclic graph
- causal interface
- review
- prenatal exposures
- Causal inference
- Directed acyclic graph
- Causal diagram
- Prenatal exposures
- Review
- COMBINED PRENATAL ETHANOL
- SOUTH-AFRICA
- MODERATE ALCOHOL
- WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE
- UNINTENDED PREGNANCY
- ADVERSE BIRTH OUTCOMES
- ILLICIT DRUG-USE
- RETINOIC ACID SYNTHESIS
- MATERNAL RISK-FACTORS
- INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE