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Case-control study of the association of use of health services by children with behavioural and developmental disorders with prenatal alcohol exposure

Includes bibliographical references.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Katwan, Elizabeth
Other Authors: London, Leslie
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Public Health and Family Medicine 2014
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access_status_str Open Access
author Katwan, Elizabeth
author2 London, Leslie
author_browse Katwan, Elizabeth
London, Leslie
author_facet London, Leslie
Katwan, Elizabeth
author_sort Katwan, Elizabeth
collection Thesis
description Includes bibliographical references.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/9409
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:33:10.259Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2014
publishDateRange 2014
publishDateSort 2014
publisher Department of Public Health and Family Medicine
publisherStr Department of Public Health and Family Medicine
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/9409 Case-control study of the association of use of health services by children with behavioural and developmental disorders with prenatal alcohol exposure Katwan, Elizabeth London, Leslie Includes bibliographical references. Background Prenatal alcohol exposure can result in a range of permanent birth defects known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which detrimentally affects the neurodevelopmental, physical, and social capabilities of children, is the most severe diagnosis on this scale of disorders. Research suggests that FASD rates exceed FAS in various populations. South Africaâs Western Cape region has one of the highest rates of FAS in the world. Hypothesis In populations where the prevalence of full-blown FAS is already known to be high, such as the Western Cape, other, less severe childhood developmental and behavioural disorders may be due to prenatal alcohol exposure. Objectives The aim of this research was to determine the odds of maternal alcohol use in children with behavioural and/or developmental disorders (BDD) in comparison to children free from behavioural disorders. This project also examined the average utilisation of health services by children with BDD as an arm of a larger study on the economic burden of FAS in South Africa. Methods Opportunistic sampling was employed to select parents or caretakers of 110 children aged 4 to 12 for interviews at a tertiary childrenâs public hospital in Cape Town. Health service utilization and maternal alcohol consumption habits were compared between 55 cases, children with BDD and 55 controls, children free from such disorders. Univariate analyses and logistic regression methods were used to determine these associations. Ethics The University of Cape Town Research Ethics Committee approved this study. Dr. T. Blake, Senior Medical Superintendent of Red Cross War Memorial Childrenâs Hospital granted access to Red Cross Hospital. Before each study interview was conducted, informed consent, which emphasized confidentiality of responses and the right to refuse to answer a question or withdraw from the interview, was taken from the adult respondent. We also explained to participants that they would remain anonymous and that their answers would not affect their childâs treatment in the clinics. Results BDD were significantly associated with current maternal alcohol consumption, maternal binge drinking in the last six months, and maternal alcohol use six months before pregnancy, but not significantly with reported maternal gestational drinking. The median number of visits to a clinic in the last six months was significantly higher for cases than for controls. Conclusions Childhood BDD among our study participants were not attributed to prenatal alcohol exposure. Current maternal alcohol consumption has a significant impact on BDD in children, possibly serving as a proxy for unstable home environments. The competing environmental factors that influence childhood BDD warrants further research. 2014-11-08T14:32:49Z 2014-11-08T14:32:49Z 2010 Master Thesis Masters MPH http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9409 eng application/pdf Department of Public Health and Family Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Katwan, Elizabeth
Case-control study of the association of use of health services by children with behavioural and developmental disorders with prenatal alcohol exposure
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Case-control study of the association of use of health services by children with behavioural and developmental disorders with prenatal alcohol exposure
title_full Case-control study of the association of use of health services by children with behavioural and developmental disorders with prenatal alcohol exposure
title_fullStr Case-control study of the association of use of health services by children with behavioural and developmental disorders with prenatal alcohol exposure
title_full_unstemmed Case-control study of the association of use of health services by children with behavioural and developmental disorders with prenatal alcohol exposure
title_short Case-control study of the association of use of health services by children with behavioural and developmental disorders with prenatal alcohol exposure
title_sort case control study of the association of use of health services by children with behavioural and developmental disorders with prenatal alcohol exposure
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9409
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