Living with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Presented by Dianne O'Connor
NYS Citizens' Coalition for Children, Inc.
13th Annual Statewide Adoption Training Conference
Adoption 2002: Linking Promises to Possibilities
May 10, 2002 • Albany New York   FAS STATISTICS

 

• WORLDWIDE: 1.9 cases per 1000 births, SWEDEN: 1 per 300 births (Estimates conservative due to lack of early identification.)
  
  
• Incidence higher among some Native American Tribes: 38 times more likely to born with FAS amongst the Apache and Ute Indians of American Southwest and the Canadian Indians of British Columbia (19.S per 1000 live births).
  
  
• Members of African race are 8 times more likely to be born with the full syndrome.
  
• FAS crosses all socioeconomic groups. Lower socioeconomic group: 2.6 per 1000 live births, compared with 0.6 per 1000 live births from middle SES group.
  
  
• New estimate is one out of every eight Americans are children of problem drinkers.
  
  
• FAS is now the leading cause of mental retardation in the U.S., exceeding Spina Bifida and Downs Syndrome, and is the only one that is preventable. Some research is suggesting it is the leading cause of learning disabilities and ADHD and is showing a high correlation with children born with Cerebral Palsy.
  
  
• Alcohol produces by far the most serious neurobehavioral effects in the fetus when compared to other drugs, including heroin, cocaine, and marijuana. *
  
  
• Annual cost estimates for FAS and related conditions in the U.S. range from $75 million to $9.7 billion. *
  
  
• There has been no reduction in the proportion of women who are heavy drinkers at the time of conception. *

* SOURCE: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Diagnosis, Epidemiology, Prevention, and Treatment, 1996.

6/21/02