The International Collaborative Research Project on Alcohol, Health and Development: Determining the Prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in Selected Countries

Dr. Lana Popova is currently leading one of the largest studies, guided by the World Health Organization and NIAAA, on determining the global prevalence of FASD among children in low- and middle-income countries of Eastern and Central Europe and Africa. This project is supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and will help to inform policies and programmes to reduce the harmful use of alcohol among childbearing age and pregnant women on the global level. Additionally, the ongoing project trains healthcare providers in participating and other countries (such as Africa, Dominican Republic, Chile, Belarus, and Poland) some of whom had no previous knowledge or awareness of harmful effects of alcohol use during pregnancy, including FASD.

Today, we can proudly say, that the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has become a leading organization in the field of social epidemiology on maternal substance use FASD globally. Dr. Popova is a Principal Investigator of epidemiological research studies on maternal substance use and child outcomes, including FASD, which is the most adverse outcome of prenatal alcohol exposure. Her research is impactful on the global and national scales.

About three years ago, before Dr. Popova’s team published their study in the Lancet Global Health, most countries and their governments, including Canada, had no idea how many pregnant women consume alcohol and how many children are born with FASD in their countries. Dr. Popova’s team estimated and published these important indicators for every country in the world. Now, countries can use these data to set priorities for public health policy and health-care planning; help children with FASD and their families and to prevent future cases.

Another example is that Dr. Popova’s team has demonstrated that FASD is associated with more than 400 disease conditions, spanning 18 of the 22 chapters of the International Classification of Diseases. This study, published in the Lancet, proved that prenatal alcohol exposure at any point during pregnancy can affect any organ and any system of the fetus, which wasn’t previously known. This research had a huge resonance at the global level and greatly impacted public health policy in terms of prevention of prenatal alcohol exposure in many countries, including Canada. This also informs our recommendations for policy, as research on comorbidities gives us an idea of the range of services that individuals with FASD may need across the lifespan.

In Canada, Dr. Popova is leading a study on the development of surveillance on FASD and prenatal alcohol exposure in the most populous provinces, as well as Yukon and North West Territories. This surveillance system will be an example for other countries and will help to identify vulnerable populations, develop prevention and treatment resources, and establish benchmarks to evaluate the effectiveness of prevention and treatment strategies. This project also works toward the goal of developing a centralized national surveillance system for FASD in Canada.

Finally, Dr. Popova’s team started a prevention initiative in middle and high schools in urban, rural and First Nations communities of Ontario. This project will develop and implement culturally sensitive School-based Prevention Curriculum to increase awareness among students of the risks of prenatal alcohol and other substance use and to develop their understanding of FASD and other health consequences. If this Curriculum is found to be effective, it can be expanded on a national level.