Objective

To determine whether children who do not develop fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) despite heavy alcohol exposure are at risk for eye abnormalities

Study design

We screened 9628 pregnant women and identified 101 women who were drinking ≥ 2 ounces of absolute alcohol per day and 101 non-drinking control women. We followed 43 exposed and 55 control offspring ages 4 to 9 years and performed masked, standardized ophthalomologic exams.

Results

The groups did not differ in their rates of impaired visual acuity, refractory errors, ptosis, epicanthal folds, or short palpebral fissures. Biomicroscopy examinations were normal in all exposed subjects; two (4%) controls and no exposed had cataracts. Seven (16%) exposed subjects versus 8 (15%) controls had arterial tortuosity. No subjects had optic nerve hypoplasia.

Conclusions

Previous research has reported that children with FAS have a high incidence of serious ophthalmologic defects; our data show that the risk is limited to children with FAS, not children exposed to high levels of alcohol prenatally but who do not develop FAS. Eye examinations are unlikely to clarify the diagnosis in children suspected of having alcohol related damage.