Constitutional chromosomal anomalies in children, fetal alcohol syndrome, and maternal toxicant exposures: A longitudinal cohort study

DNA alterations in gametes, which may occur either spontaneously or as a result of exposure to genotoxicants, can lead to constitutional chromosomal anomalies in the offspring. Alcohol is an established genotoxicant. The goal of this hypothesis-testing longitudinal cohort study was to evaluate the effect of significant/sustained maternal alcohol exposure on clinically diagnosed constitutional chromosomal anomalies among children diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). De-identified eligibility and claim healthcare records, prospectively generated from the 1990–2012 Florida Medicaid system within the Independent Healthcare Research Database (IHRD), were analyzed. Children examined were continuously eligible with ≥ 8 outpatient office visits during the 96-month period following birth. Among these children, 377 were diagnosed with FAS and 137,135 were not. The incidence rate of chromosomal anomalies involving segregation (trisomy 13, 18, or 21, n = 625), microdeletions (microdeletion syndromes, n = 39), and point mutations (sickle-cell anemia/cystic fibrosis, n = 2570) were examined using frequency risk ratio (RR) and logistic regression (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for sex, race, residence, socioeconomic/environmental exposure status, and birth date) models. The incidence rates of chromosomal anomalies involving segregation (RR=5.92, aOR=5.85) and microdeletions (RR=41.6, aOR=34.1) were significantly increased in the FAS cohort as compared to the non-diagnosed cohort, but there was no difference in the incidence rate of point mutations (RR=1.14, aOR=1.29). Maternal toxicant exposure should be considered in the etiology of constitutional chromosomal anomaly in offspring.