Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Called Lifelong Problem

Fetal alcohol syndrome is a lifelong disorder with physical, mental and behavioral problems spilling over from childhood into adulthood, a U. S.-Canadian research team concludes in the first long-term follow-up of such patients.

First identified in the early 1970s, the syndrome occurs in babies whose mothers abuse alcohol when they are pregnant. It is the leading cause of mental retardation in the United States, with about 5,000 afflicted babies born each year, according to the March of Dimes.

The researchers, from the University of Washington in Seattle and the University of Vancouver in British Columbia, tracked 61 patients into adolescence or adulthood.

Their findings, published in today’s Journal of the American Medical Assn., showed profound mental problems, even though some of the distinctive facial characteristics--visible in early childhood and helpful in diagnosis--were more subtle after puberty. These characteristics include a short nose with a flattened bridge and a smooth and flat philtrum area--the part of the face between the nose and the upper lip where most people have a vertical indentation.

“What is important (about the study) and terribly sad is how many of these people are totally dysfunctional as adults,” said Dr. Jon M. Aase, an Albuquerque, N.M., birth defects specialist who was a co-author of the study.

The average IQ in these adolescents and adults was 68, which technically put them at the high end of what is considered mentally retarded. The actual range of scores was 20 (severely retarded) to 105 (normal). Yet none of the subjects was capable of living alone own or earning a living because of accompanying behavioral disorders such as poor attention spans, high anxiety, excessive impulsiveness and sullenness.

“We have plenty of people functioning normally in society with IQs of 80,” Aase said.

The researchers said their findings confirm that fetal alcohol syndrome is not just a childhood disorder, showing that “there is a predictable long-term progression of the disorder into adulthood.”