Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in Adults: Health and Neurobehavior

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is rarely diagnosed in adulthood and there are no recognized treatment protocols because, despite decades of research on the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), scientific study of adults with FASD is almost unknown. Although neurodevelopmental deficits may be persistent, without accurate information about mental and physical health problems associated with PAE, caregivers, health care professionals and policy makers cannot make informed decisions, diagnose accurately, provide care or allocate resources. This project will address this deficit by: 1) Establishing a registry of 500 adults with known PAE/FASD diagnosis or who are matched controls, who will respond to a health survey, and who will be available for future studies; 2) among 240 affected individuals (FAS or FASD) and controls, examining dysmorphology, abstracting medical records, and evaluating substance use (self-report and biological samples), cognition, mental health, and social factors that might contribute to outcomes and disability status; and 3) assessing immune status via blood samples to identify outcomes associated with health indicators. Our goal is to refine diagnostic criteria for FASD in this age group and determine the persistence and severity of disability associated with PAE.