Prevalence of Heavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure in Uganda via Analysis of Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters in Meconium

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) manifests as a continuum of permanent birth defects and neurodevelopmental impairments that originate from maternal alcohol use during pregnancy. The number of recognized FASD cases in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa is growing, which is a cause for concern. Prenatal alcohol exposure was examined via regional hospital population-based collection of meconium, and analysis of the fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) contained within. Meconium samples were collected from five hundred ten neonates over a two-month period at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. Each meconium sample was accompanied by a maternal questionnaire. The prevalence of prenatal alcohol exposure using the maternal questionnaire was 16.1% (81 of 510). The overall prevalence of prenatal alcohol exposure via FAEE-meconium analysis in this population was 1.6% (8 of 510). This is the first population-based study of an entire local neonatal population examining fetal alcohol exposure via meconium-FAEE analysis conducted in Uganda.