Alcohol use during pregnancy as a risk factor for miscarriage. A pilot study

Consumption of alcohol occurs in different age groups. The modal alcohol consumer is 18 – 29 years old. It is also the modal child-bearing age. 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports 9.5 and 5.8% of pregnant women consume alcohol and illicit drugs, respectively. There is a range of pathologies correlated to antenatal exposure to alcohol. It is important to understand these pathogenic mechanisms for clinical practice to establish biomarkers that would help evaluate the teratogenic risk of current exposure. The aims of the study are as follows: a) determine alcohol use prevalence among pregnant women; b) determine and compare miscarriage prevalence among pregnancies exposed and unexposed to alcohol. Information concerning medical history and pregnancy outcomes are retrieved from the Health Care Monitoring datalink (HCMD). The data obtained from HCMD included 584 women; 103 (17.64%) out of them had at least once consumed alcohol during pregnancy. Thirty-eight (7.90%) and 15 (14.56%) pregnancies ended in miscarriage in the unexposed and exposed group, respectively, yielding an OR 1.99 [CI 1.048, 3.768]. Data was further stratified by age into four groups: <24y.o. (n=112); 25-29 y.o. (n=222); 30-34 y.o. (n=162); 35-39 y.o. (n=88). Among them 20 (17.86%), 42 (18.91%), 30 (18.52%), and 11 (12.50%) women, respectively, have used alcohol at least once during pregnancy. The following odds ratios were derived, when stratified by age: 1.59 [CI 0.297, 8.537]; 1.08 [CI 0.341, 3.411]; 1.69 [CI 0.499, 5.734]; 1.44 [CI 0.152, 13,616], respectivley. Antenatal alcohol exposure is a relevant problem in Latvia. There is a higher risk of miscarriage for women consuming alcohol during pregnancy. Based on the available relevant international literature risk for miscarriage increases in a dose-dependent manner, however further analysis is required in the Latvian population to determine if this pattern of cause and effect is applicable.