Trends in alcohol consumption by pregnant women: 1985 through 1988

Article Abstract:

A report is presented concerning the use of alcohol by pregnant and nonpregnant women during the years 1985 through 1988 in 20 states and the District of Columbia. These states participated in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a collaborative study between state health departments and the Centers for Disease Control. Data for the BRFSS were collected in telephone surveys of a carefully selected sample of women; at the end of the interview, respondents were asked if they were pregnant. Items were included in the questionnaire concerning respondents' ages, alcohol use during the past month, marital status, use of tobacco, and other items. Those who used alcohol were classified as current drinkers (had drunk alcohol in the past month); binge drinkers (had five or more drinks consumed on at least one occasion in the past month); or heavier drinkers (averaged two or more drinks per day). Results showed that pregnant women were less than half as likely as nonpregnant women to say they had consumed an alcoholic beverage in the past month (25 percent versus 55 percent). They were also less likely to have indulged in binge drinking (3 percent versus 12 percent) or heavier drinking (0.6 percent versus 2.5 percent). Women who were pregnant and smoked, were unmarried, college graduates, or aged between 35 and 45, were more likely to consume alcohol than pregnant women who lacked these characteristics. A smaller proportion of pregnant women used alcohol in 1988 (20 percent) than 1985 (32 percent); the proportion of nonpregnant women who used alcohol decreased only slightly (from 57 percent to 53 percent) during those same years. Pregnant women who had used alcohol in the past month had consumed an average of 4.2 drinks in the month; for nonpregnant women, the value was 8.7 drinks. Overall, the prevalence of alcohol use among pregnant women declined by 38 percent in the time studied, but this was not true among unmarried women, smokers, or the least educated or youngest women. In addition, when women did drink during pregnancy, their average number of drinks had not lessened in more recent years. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Alcohol use

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Comparing the prevalence of smoking in pregnant and nonpregnant women, 1985 to 1986

Article Abstract:

One of the nation's health goals is to reduce the number of pregnant women who smoke, so that pregnant women are half as likely as nonpregnant women to smoke by 1990. To evaluate the progress toward this goal, the prevalence of smoking reported by 836 pregnant women was compared to that of 18025 nonpregnant women in 1985 and 1986. Pregnant women were 70 percent as likely to smoke cigarettes as nonpregnant women. Comparisons were also made with regard to race and marital status. Differences in smoking prevalence occurred because pregnant women were more likely to have stopped smoking rather than being more likely to have smoked at all. Also, unmarried pregnant white women were 40 percent more likely to smoke than single nonpregnant white women. Based on the findings, the national health goal seems unlikely to be achieved by 1990, and it is recommended that physicians spend more time counseling pregnant women who smoke to quit the habit.

Evaluation, Statistics, Smokers, Smoking, Health risk assessment, Tobacco habit, Smoking and women, Women smokers

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Prevalence of Attempting Weight Loss and Strategies for Controlling Weight

Article Abstract:

Many Americans are trying to lose weight but most are not following the recommended method of doing so. In a survey of 107,804 American adults participating in the 1996 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 44% of the women and 29% of the men were attempting to lose weight. But only 21% of the men and 19% of the women were eating fewer calories and participating in some kind of physical activity for at least two hours a week, which is the recommended method for losing weight.

United States, Weight loss

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