Abnormal Development - Illegal Drugs
From Embryology
Introduction
This page introduces the possible effects of maternal use of illegal drugs on development. In all cases, a discussion with a medical practioner should had prior to any reproductive decision. This page has information from Australian and USA drug use surveys.There are a large number of typically used illegal drugs that may impact on development either indirectly (through maternal health) or directly (through embryonic/fetal development). In addition, there are some examples of "legal drugs" used illegally, for example in performance enhancement.
Of the 4 million women who gave birth in the United States (1992) 5% used illegal drugs while they were pregnant. This same study also showed strong link between cigarette smoking and alcohol use (legal drugs) and the use of illicit drugs in this population. (More? National Pregnancy and Health Survey)
Links: original page
Illegal Drugs
Below is a list of typically used illegal drugs that may impact on development either indirectly (through maternal health) or directly (through embryonic/fetal development). In some cases these are "legal drugs" used illegally, for example in performance enhancement.
- Cannabis/Marijuana
- Methamphetamine/Amphetamine
- [#Cocaine Cocaine]
- Heroin
- Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD)
- Ecstasy, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) -like substances
- Magic Mushrooms, psilocin and psilocybin
- Nitrous Oxide
- Organic Solvents
- Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs (PIEDs)
- Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids
- Insulin
- Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF-1)
- Human Growth Hormone (hGH)
- Clenbuterol
- Creatine Monohydrate
- Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG)
- Erythropoietin (EPO)
Australian Data
The following statistics are based on the 1995 Australian National Drug Strategy Household survey.
- Marijuana is the most commonly used drug after tobacco and alcohol.
- 31% of persons aged 14 or more have tried it, and 13% have recently used marijuana.
- Marijuana use is no higher in South Australia or the Australian Capital Territory, where its consumption has been decriminalised.
- Analgesics is the next most frequently tried and used drug, with 12% having tried them, and 3% recently using them.
- Hallucinogens, particularly LSD, come in next at 7% ever tried, and almost 2% have used in the past 12 months. Nearly all recent users are aged under 35.
- Amphetamines have been tried by 6% of the population, and used in the past 12 months by 2%. Nearly all recent users are aged under 35.
- Cocaine has been tried by 3% of the population, and 1% have used it in the past 12 months.
- Designer drugs, particularly Ecstasy (MDMA) have been tried by nearly 3 % of the population, and used in the past 12 months by 0.8% of the population.
- Inhalants have been tried by 4% of the population, and are currently used by 0.4%
- Heroin has been tried by nearly 1% of the population, and is currently used by 0.4%.
- Illegal drugs have been injected by nearly 1.5% of the population, and currently illegal drugs are injected by .5%.
- Of the 26,355 deaths caused by drugs, 72% were due to tobacco, 25% to alcohol and 3% to illicit drugs. Alcohol is responsible for the majority of drug related deaths in persons aged 15 to 34.
- In the 1994 Urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Household survey supplement, 62% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community drink alcohol compared to 72% of the general urban population. Those who do drink alcohol, however, consume much higher quantities of alcohol than the general population.
- 54% of urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are current smokers, compared to 29% of the general population.
- Illicit drug use is more widespread among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander urban community than in the general population. 50% have tried an illicit drug compared with 38% in the general community. 24% are current users compared with 15% in the general population with marijuana being the most popular illicit drug.
USA Data
The data below is from National Institute Drug Abuse (USA) (More? NIDA Homepage)
NIDA Survey Provides First National USA Data on Drug Use During Pregnancy(September 1994)
- More than 5 percent of the 4 million women who gave birth in the United States in 1992 used illegal drugs while they were pregnant, according to the first nationally representative survey of drug use among pregnant women. The NIDA sponsored survey, which was released last fall, provides the best estimates to date of the number of women who use drugs during pregnancy, their demographic characteristics, and their patterns of drug use.
- The survey gathered self report data from a national sample of 2,613 women who delivered babies in 52 urban and rural hospitals during 1992. Based on these data, an estimated 22 1,000 women who gave birth in 1992 used illicit drugs while they were pregnant. Marijuana and cocaine were the most frequently used illicit drugs - 2.9 percent, or 119,000 women, used marijuana and another 1.1 percent, or 45,000 women, used cocaine at some time during their pregnancy.
- The survey found a high incidence of cigarette and alcohol use among pregnant women. At some point during their pregnancy, 20.4 percent, or 820,000, pregnant women smoked cigarettes and 18.8 percent, or 757,000, drank alcohol.
- The survey also uncovered a strong link between cigarette smoking and alcohol use and the use of illicit drugs in this population. Among those women who used both cigarettes and alcohol, 20.4 percent also used marijuana and 9.5 percent took cocaine. Conversely, of those women who said they had not used cigarettes or alcohol, only 0.2 percent smoked marijuana and 0. I percent used cocaine.
- Besides providing the fist national estimates of drug use during pregnancy, the survey also examined differences in the amount and types of drugs used by several racial and ethnic groups of women. Overall, 11.3 percent of African-American women, 4.4 percent of white women, and 4.5 percent of Hispanic women used illicit drugs while pregnant. While African Americans had higher rates of drug use, in ten-ns of actual numbers of users, most women who took drugs while they were pregnant were white. The survey found that an estimated 11 3,000 white women, 75,000 African-American women, and 28,000 Hispanic women used illicit drugs during pregnancy.
- The survey also described different patterns of licit and illicit drug use among white women and ethnic minorities. African-American women had the highest rates of cocaine use, mainly "crack," during pregnancy. About 4.5 percent of African-American women used cocaine compared with 0.4 percent of white women and 0.7 percent of Hispanic women who did so.
- White women had the highest rates of alcohol and cigarette use. Nearly 23 percent of white women drank alcohol and 24.4 percent smoked cigarettes. By comparison, 15.8 percent of African-American women and 8.7 percent of Hispanic women drank alcohol and 19.8 percent of African-American women and 5.8 percent of Hispanic women smoked cigarettes. "These findings point to the importance of attending to cultural issues in drug abuse prevention and treatment efforts," said Dr. Finnegan.
- Although women who used drugs during pregnancy generally decreased their rates of drug use throughout their pregnancy, they did not discontinue drug use.
- NIDA's National Pregnancy and Health Survey reveals different patterns of substance use among black, white, and Hispanic women. The survey found that an estimated 113,000 white women, 75,000 African-American women, and 28,000 Hispanic women used illicit drugs during pregnancy.
| Percent of American women who gave birth in 1992 and used drugs during pregnancy. | ||
Blacks
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Whites
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Hispanics
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Source: NIDA- Pregnancy and Drug Use Trends
