# Comorbidities in Pregnant Women with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Adverse Birth Outcomes

> **NIH NIH R03** · FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $79,905

## Abstract

Abstract
In the last three decades, extensive research has been conducted on the effects of prenatal
alcohol intake on birth outcomes, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and children’s developmental
delays. However, there is limited research on highly prevalent comorbidities that exist among
pregnant women who consume alcohol during pregnancy, and how these maternal
comorbidities in conjunction with prenatal alcohol consumption affect birth outcomes. Given the
high national rates of obesity and subsequent diabetes, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and
related preeclampsia and toxemia along with persistently high rates of preconceptual and
prenatal alcohol consumption among US women, this gap in our science is significant. The
proposed study will address this gap using an innovative approach that yields risk profiles that
may be easily translated into clinical screening tools and provide the underpinnings of tailored
interventions for the target population. The objectives of this study are to: (1a) estimate the
extent of comorbidities among pregnant women with prenatal alcohol exposure; (1b) build
maternal morbidity risk profiles based on social and behavioral determinants of health among
women with prenatal alcohol intake using machine learning (ML) methods; (2a) examine the
effects of comorbidities on adverse birth outcomes among alcohol-exposed pregnancies; and
2(b) build risk profiles for adverse birth outcomes using ML methods.
We will use data from the Prenatal Alcohol and SIDS and Stillbirth Network (PASS) (2007-2015)
and the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (2000-2021). Logistic regression will
be used to compute odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals in examining the direction and
magnitude of the association between comorbidities and alcohol exposure during pregnancy.
Further, we will examine the effects of comorbidities on adverse birth outcomes among alcohol-
exposed pregnancies using traditional statistical methods. ML methods such as classification
trees will be used to construct risk profiles for maternal morbidity and adverse birth outcomes in
identifying high-risk groups based on exposure to prenatal alcohol intake.
This study will provide vital information on comorbidities among women who consume alcohol
during pregnancy. The proposed study presents a model of study that combines both maternal
and infant health in the context of maternal-fetal exposure to alcohol using innovative methods
of data analysis that will yield previously unidentified risk profiles. Given the need for careful
allocation of scarce healthcare resources for prevention and treatment programs, the
identification of these risk profiles is both innovative and critical.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10952366
- **Project number:** 1R03AA031873-01
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Panagiota Kitsantas
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $79,905
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-05 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10952366

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10952366, Comorbidities in Pregnant Women with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Adverse Birth Outcomes (1R03AA031873-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10952366. Licensed CC0.

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