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Alcohol, Tobacco Use During Lactation Not Linked to ADHD
While there is a known link between prenatal alcohol and tobacco use with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to research published in Springer Link, there is no known association with substance use during lactation.
Both prenatal alcohol and tobacco usage are associated with ADHD. Prenatal tobacco is a known risk for ASD.
Since breastfeeding after consuming these substances has been associated with negative cognitive and academic outcomes in children, researchers aimed to find if lactational use effected ADHD or ASD risk.
“While there is no directly comparative prior research, prenatal tobacco exposure has previously been associated with ADHD,” wrote co-researcher Louisa Gibson, MS, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. “Although it might be expected that smoking tobacco while breastfeeding may also increase ADHD risk, prior studies have not found breastfeeding tobacco to be related to cognitive, academic or developmental health.”
Researchers sourced data from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). They analyzed 5,107 infants aged 4 to 9 months, along with their caregivers. Participants were assessed every two years, beginning at Wave 1.
The children were grouped by those who were breastfeeding at Wave 1, and those who had been breastfed at any time.
Substance habits with tobacco in participating mothers were recorded as the number of cigarettes smoked on average per day at Wave 1. Alcohol habits were measured using a modified version of the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) Alcohol Consumption Questions (AUDIT-C) at Wave 1.
Pregnancy alcohol consumption was recorded as the number of days per week mothers drank each trimester as well as the average quantity consumed on each occasion.
The outcome variables were diagnoses reported by the children’s caregivers at Wave 4 (patients aged 6 to 7) and Wave 6 (patients aged 10 to 11).
Outcomes suggested that maternal alcohol and tobacco intake while breastfeeding did not affect risk of ADHD or ASD diagnosis at Waves 1, 4, or 6.
Mothers with ADHD are more likely to consume alcohol and smoke cigarettes, therefore researchers suggested that the failure to include maternal ASD and ADHD status was a limitation of the study.
“Future studies should address these confounds. Contemporaneous measures of alcohol and tobacco use may be beneficial, combined with measuring the time between alcohol consumption and infant feeding,” Gibson et al wrote. “Inclusion of maternal ADHD or ASD as a control variable may also improve analyses.”
—Erin McGuinness
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