Maternal periconceptional alcohol consumption and gastroschisis in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997–2011

Background Gastroschisis is particularly prevalent among offspring of young women and has increased over recent decades. Although previous studies suggest that maternal alcohol consumption is associated with increased gastroschisis risk, none have explored whether maternal age modifies that association. Objective The objective of the study was to evaluate associations between self‐reported maternal periconceptional alcohol consumption (1 month prior through the third month after conception) and risk of gastroschisis among offspring, by maternal age. Methods We used data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS), a multi‐site population‐based case‐control study. The analysis included 1450 gastroschisis cases and 11,829 unaffected liveborn controls delivered during 1997–2011 in ten US states. We estimated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the individual and joint effects of alcohol consumption and young maternal age at delivery (