Article Text
Abstract
Estimates for the UK suggest that alcohol consumption during pregnancy and prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)—the most common neurodevelopmental condition—are high. Considering the significant health and social impacts of FASD, there is a public health imperative to prioritise prevention, interventions and support. In this article, we outline the current state of play regarding FASD knowledge and research in the UK, which is characterised by a lack of evidence, a lack of dedicated funding and services, and consequently little policy formulation and strategic direction. We highlight progress made to date, as well as current knowledge and service gaps to propose a way forward for UK research.
- adolescent health
- neonatology
- syndrome
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Footnotes
Twitter @lesaangelica, @rajamukherjee10, @blackbu5, @mykiesutt
Contributors RM and PC convened the first meeting of the UK FASD Research Collaboration, where the authors of this paper met to establish research priorities and create an outline of this paper, led by LS. All authors contributed writing sections of the paper, which was edited and coordinated by LS. All authors reviewed the final manuscript before submission.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests RM is an unpaid voluntary Medical advisor to various UK and international FASD charities and has received occasional honoraria for academic talks related to FASD. JS, SB and DZ have funding from a Scottish Government grant to expand training, research and clinical knowledge of FASD. Remaining authors have no conflict of interest to report.
Patient consent for publication Not required.
Data availability statement No data are available. Not applicable.