Estimating the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome in Victoria using routinely collected administrative data

Abstract

Objective: To establish the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in Victoria through the Victorian Birth Defects Register (VBDR). Methods: A sample of live births from 1995-2002 was selected from the Victorian Perinatal Data Collection and VBDR based on reported microcephaly, FAS or maternal use of alcohol during pregnancy. Following ethics approval, medical records of mother and child were requested for 117 births. One hundred and nine of these were accessed and examined for factors related to FAS. Records were categorised as FAS, possible FAS, unable to categorise, or not FAS. Results: From the VBDR the prevalence was calculated at 0.006 per 1,000 live births. Four additional possibl..