Comorbidities associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the United States
Abstract The detrimental effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on the development of humans are well understood and include fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), a broad set of conditions referring to the adverse physical and behavioral health impairments associated with exposure to alcohol in ute...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13366-9 |
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| author | Brandon K. Attell Angela B. Snyder Claire Coles Julie Kable |
| author_facet | Brandon K. Attell Angela B. Snyder Claire Coles Julie Kable |
| author_sort | Brandon K. Attell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The detrimental effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on the development of humans are well understood and include fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), a broad set of conditions referring to the adverse physical and behavioral health impairments associated with exposure to alcohol in utero. Using a case-control study design, the purpose of this study was to better understand the complex comorbidity patterns associated with FASD (N = 3,248) and to examine how they differ with the general patient population (N = 16,240) and a cohort of behavioral health controls (N = 16,240). Employing a novel unsupervised machine learning algorithm applied to a nationally representative hospital discharge database, we found 57 distinct comorbidities that frequently occurred among FASD cases, in addition to a set of 144 complex overlapping comorbidity patterns. The identified comorbidities were generally more likely to occur in the FASD cases compared to the general patient population control group, while differences with behavioral health controls were less readily apparent. This study adds to a small but growing body of research on comorbidities experienced by individuals with FASD. We discuss the implications of the identified comorbidity patterns on the ongoing identification, treatment, and surveillance of FASD in the US. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5464060c91264ad78e9f7cf4f3a34d03 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-5464060c91264ad78e9f7cf4f3a34d032025-08-20T03:43:11ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-08-0115111410.1038/s41598-025-13366-9Comorbidities associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the United StatesBrandon K. Attell0Angela B. Snyder1Claire Coles2Julie Kable3Georgia Health Policy Center, Georgia State UniversityGeorgia Health Policy Center, Georgia State UniversityEmory University School of MedicineEmory University School of MedicineAbstract The detrimental effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on the development of humans are well understood and include fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), a broad set of conditions referring to the adverse physical and behavioral health impairments associated with exposure to alcohol in utero. Using a case-control study design, the purpose of this study was to better understand the complex comorbidity patterns associated with FASD (N = 3,248) and to examine how they differ with the general patient population (N = 16,240) and a cohort of behavioral health controls (N = 16,240). Employing a novel unsupervised machine learning algorithm applied to a nationally representative hospital discharge database, we found 57 distinct comorbidities that frequently occurred among FASD cases, in addition to a set of 144 complex overlapping comorbidity patterns. The identified comorbidities were generally more likely to occur in the FASD cases compared to the general patient population control group, while differences with behavioral health controls were less readily apparent. This study adds to a small but growing body of research on comorbidities experienced by individuals with FASD. We discuss the implications of the identified comorbidity patterns on the ongoing identification, treatment, and surveillance of FASD in the US.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13366-9Fetal alcohol spectrum disordersFetal alcohol syndromeComorbiditiesDiagnosesMachine learningNational inpatient sample |
| spellingShingle | Brandon K. Attell Angela B. Snyder Claire Coles Julie Kable Comorbidities associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the United States Scientific Reports Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders Fetal alcohol syndrome Comorbidities Diagnoses Machine learning National inpatient sample |
| title | Comorbidities associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the United States |
| title_full | Comorbidities associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the United States |
| title_fullStr | Comorbidities associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comorbidities associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the United States |
| title_short | Comorbidities associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the United States |
| title_sort | comorbidities associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the united states |
| topic | Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders Fetal alcohol syndrome Comorbidities Diagnoses Machine learning National inpatient sample |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13366-9 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT brandonkattell comorbiditiesassociatedwithfetalalcoholspectrumdisordersintheunitedstates AT angelabsnyder comorbiditiesassociatedwithfetalalcoholspectrumdisordersintheunitedstates AT clairecoles comorbiditiesassociatedwithfetalalcoholspectrumdisordersintheunitedstates AT juliekable comorbiditiesassociatedwithfetalalcoholspectrumdisordersintheunitedstates |