Depending on the nature of the health behaviour, being at the top of a lifestyle league table is good or bad news. Recent research highlighted the latter: women in the Republic are, by some distance, top of the global league when it comes to drinking alcohol while pregnant. The study, published in Lancet Global Health, linked rates of drinking during pregnancy (as reported by mothers themselves) to rates of foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a constellation of damaging effects brought about by exposure to alcohol in the womb.
In constructing a league table, researchers analysed more than 20,000 studies, including Irish research carried out between 1990 and 2011. Unfortunately Irish women came out on top, with 60 per cent of expectant mothers here drinking alcohol.
Source: The Irish Times, 25/01/17
Safer Student Nights
eBulletin
Poll
