There is smoking in the pub, so the non-smokers smoke unwillingly: It has long been known that passive smoking endangers the health. Now, researchers at the Munich Institute for Therapy Research (IFT) have found a similar effect on "passive drinking".
The analysis from the journal "BMC Medicine" shows that when people consume alcohol, others also suffer from their behavior. In road traffic, drunk drivers cause fatal accidents, alcohol often plays a role in violence - and mothers who drink drink harm their unborn children.
Fetal alcohol syndrome
According to the study, 12,650 babies with a so-called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) were born in Germany in 2014, the researchers report. Thirty-three of the children thus suffered from the full extent of the disorder, which is also known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).
The affected children are sometimes short and have malformations on the face. Many have limited motor skills. In addition, abnormalities in behavior as well as problems with memory, attention or learning ability are typical.
Alcohol consumption represents a risk for uninvolved third parties, concludes study leader Ludwig Kraus: "This is analogous to the passive smoking." How many children are harmed by the alcohol consumption of their parents is difficult to grasp. Developmental damage was often only apparent after years and there was no obligation to register for FASD or FAS.
For their analysis, the researchers had therefore evaluated international survey studies, including a survey of the Robert Koch Institute. Thus, in 2017, of 10,000 newborns, 177 suffered from FASD. The researchers estimated that the number of 715,000 births in Germany was high. "For Germany, the numbers have been underestimated so far," says Kraus. FAS and FASD are not even the only possible consequences of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
High dark figure
"There are many FAS or FASD cases that are not recognized," says Kraus. Although it should not be assumed that the number of cases increases, since the consumption of alcohol in Germany tends to decrease, according to the psychologist. Nevertheless, he called for more prevention.
Road traffic also showed the negative consequences of alcohol consumption. Out of 2675 people who died off the road in 2014, 1,214 were victims of alcoholic drinks, usually as co-drivers or pedestrians. Violent acts were often committed under the influence of alcohol. Out of 368 killings, the perpetrators were drunk in 55 cases.
The researchers suggest several countermeasures:
- Education about the health risks of drinking alcohol in pregnancy
- Tougher penalties for drunk drivers
- more traffic controls
- Therapy offers for people who become violent under the influence of alcohol
- Restrictions on the marketing of alcoholic beverages
- More expensive alcohol
Ultimately, such measures also benefit the drinkers themselves, the researchers argue. Alcohol abuse is the fourth leading cause of illness and death worldwide. Abuse of alcohol also increases the risk of many cancers.