FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME IN AN INNER CITY POPULATION: ROLE OF MATERNAL AGE AND CONCOMITANT USE OF TOBACCO AND DRUGS IN PATHOGENESIS. 483

Birth data for 92 children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) were compared with that of nearly 45,000 singletons born at the Kings County Hospital Center in same period. Mothers of FAS infants were older than mothers in the general population (28.5 +/- 5.2 years vs 24.0 +/- 5.1 years). FAS infants were more likely to be premature (36.5% vs 14.9%) and with birth weight lower than 2500 g (86.9% vs 11.5%) than comparison infants. Mean birth weight of 53 full term FAS infants was reduced (2,203 +/- 377 g). Postnatally, head circumference was more affected than weight and both measures were more affected than length. Catch-up growth was, for most part, not attained. Minor defects of morphogenesis were common, and more serious defects including congenital heart disease, genitourinary anomalies, cleft palate, strabismus, inguinal herniae, cryptorchidism, and skeletal anomalies occurred far more frequently than in the general population. Smoking of more than one pack of cigarettes per day was acknowledged by 31 mothers, and 14 admitted to using illicit drugs.