Measuring baseline level of excessive alcohol intake in pregnancy in the WoS

Aim

The aim of this pilot study was to test the utility of a two assay system (CDT and EtG) in determining the baseline prevalence of heavy alcohol consumption in a pregnant population in the West of Scotland. 

Key Findings

Based on the levels of Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) – a biomarker of chronic alcohol use – approximately 5% of the study sample of pregnant women had results suggestive of recent hazardous alcohol use. This is in-line with the estimated prevalence figures. Ethyl Glucuronide – a biomarker of acute alcohol use – could not be detected, possibly related to the age of the samples (4 to 5 years old).

These results suggest that CDT, but not EtG could be used in a larger, representative study to determine baseline hazardous alcohol consumption in pregnant women at a population level.