Novel Study Uncovered A Link Between Changes In Children’s Facial Shapes And Mothers’ Alcohol Consumption Both Before And During Pregnancy
Researchers successfully used deep learning technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover a link between the alteration of children’s facial shapes and the amount of alcohol mothers consume– both before and during pregnancy.
This study was the first to identify this link among children born to mothers who consumed alcohol up to three months prior to conceiving and stopped during pregnancy.
The findings also revealed how altered face shape persisted even if mothers consumed less than 12 grams of alcohol per week– which is the equivalent of one small glass of wine.
According to Gennady Roshchupkin, the study’s lead, these findings are critical since children’s facial appearances are often an indicator of developmental and other health problems.
“I would call the face a ‘health mirror’ as it reflects the overall health of a child,” Roshchupkin said.
“A child’s exposure to alcohol before birth can have significant adverse effects on its health development, and if a mother regularly drinks a large amount, this can result in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), which is reflected in children’s faces.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, FASD causes growth problems and brain damage. And even though the defects caused by FASD may vary from child to child, they are non-reversible.
Physical defects may include distinctive facial features– including a very thin upper lip, small eyes, and an upturned nose– slow physical growth before and after birth, hearing problems or vision difficulty, small brain size and head circumference, heart defects, kidney and bone problems, and deformities of limbs, joints, and fingers.
Additionally, brain and central nervous system problems may include delayed development, poor coordination or balance, poor memory, difficulty paying attention and processing information, poor judgment skills, hyperactivity, and rapidly changing moods.
Maksim Toome – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Due to this, children with FASD may have difficulty in school, poor social skills, behavioral or impulse control problems, and difficulty working toward goals.
It has long been known that FASD is caused by a mother’s particularly heavy drinking during pregnancy. Until now, though, the impact of low alcohol consumption on a child’s facial development was not well known.
In the study, the researchers utilized deep learning and AI to analyze three-dimensional (3D) images of 3,149 children who were 9 years old. The team did the same with 2,477 children who were 13 years old.
These child study participants were part of the Generation R Study, a population-based study in The Netherlands of expectant mothers and their kids from fetal life onwards. However, the children included in this particular study were born between January 2006 and April 2009.
Since the face is complex, analyzing it without the use of advanced technology is difficult. So, even though 3D imaging was helpful, Roshchupkin explained how the analysis also required a more advanced algorithm.
“For this task, we developed an AI-based algorithm, which takes high-resolution 3D images of the face and produces 200 unique measurements or ‘traits,'” he detailed.
“We analyzed these to search for associations with prenatal alcohol exposure, and we developed heat maps to display the particular facial features associated with the mothers’ alcohol consumption.”
In conjunction with the images, the researchers also collected questionnaire responses from the women during their early, mid, and late pregnancy stages.
Afterward, this allowed the team to split the mothers into three distinct groups: those who never drank before or during pregnancy, mothers who drank during the three months prior to conception but stopped after becoming pregnant, and mothers who drank during pregnancy.
This led the researchers to uncover a “statistically significant association” between fetal alcohol exposure and face shape among 9-year-old children. And the more alcohol a mother drank, the more significant these facial changes were.
Some of the most common traits included a shortened nose, turned-up nose tip, turned-in lower eyelid, and turned-out chin.
“Among the group of mothers who drank throughout pregnancy, we found that even if mothers drank very little during pregnancy, less than 12 g a week, the association between alcohol exposure and children’s facial shape could be observed,” added Xianjing Liu, the study’s first author, and developer of the AI algorithm.
“This is the first time an association has been shown at such low levels of alcohol consumption.”
As children aged, the link between face shape and alcohol consumption did weaken. So, among the 13-year-old children, the researchers found no significant association.
According to Roshchupkin, it is possible that the facial changes are either obscured by normal growth patterns or diminish as children age and experience other environmental factors. However, this does not mean that the health effects of prenatal alcohol consumption will disappear.
“Therefore, it is crucial to emphasize that there is no established safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and that it is advisable to cease drinking alcohol even before conception to ensure optimal health outcomes for both the mother and developing fetus,” he said.
“Further investigations on the mechanism of association are needed to fully understand how the association develops and then weakens with age.”
It is also crucial to note that this study included a large number of children from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in Oxford Academic, visit the link here.
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