Previous studies have shown associations between administration of certain drugs during maternal labour and the future development of drug addiction in the offspring during adult life. Administration of nitrous oxide during labour appears to be a risk factor for adult amphetamine addiction in offspring [1], and administration of opiates and/or barbiturates and/or nitrous oxide is a risk factor for opiate addiction [2, 3]. These studies all used the same subjects: 200 amphetamine addicts and 200 opiate addicts born in Stockholm between 1945 and 1966. The addicts were compared to their siblings in a matched case control study. The mechanism contributing to this drug addiction in adults is thought to stem partly from an imprinting process during birth when certain drugs are given to the mother. The unconscious memory of the drugged state at birth might make the individual more disposed to become addicted if exposed as an adult. We are keen to investigate these associations further using the ALSPAC data. We know that there is basic information available on the labour analgesia given to the mothers of the ALSPAC children. We assume that at some stage in the next few years you will be doing projects on drug use / misuse / addiction, and that it would be relatively easy to relate the labour information to prospectively collected data.

There is also a postulated link between neonatal resuscitation with oxygen and an increased incidence of childhood cancers. Data from the Collaborative Perinatal Project (CPP) of nearly 55000 children born between 1959 and 1966 who were followed up until eight years of age were used. An exposure to oxygen for more than three minutes was associated with a greater risk despite controlling for other cancer risk factors [4]. The findings of this study are consistent with a case-controlled Swedish study of 578 children diagnosed with lymphatic leukaemia between 1973 and 1989. Resuscitation with 100% oxygen using a facemask and bag immediately after delivery was significantly associated with more than double the risk of childhood lymphatic leukaemia [5].

ALSPAC data could potentially provide over 6,000 subjects which we would use to further investigate these findings.

References

1. Jacobsen B, Nyberg K, Ekland G, Bygdeman, Bygdemann M, Rydberg U. Obstetric pain medication and eventual adult amphetamine addiction in offspring. Acta Obstetrica et Gynecologica Scandinavia 1988; 67(8): 677-82.
2. Jacobsen B, Nyberg K, Gronbladh L, Ekland G, Bygdeman, Rydberg U. Opiate addiction in adult offspring through possible imprinting after obstetric treatment. British Medical Journal 1990; 301(6760): 1067-70.
3. Nyberg K, Alleback P, Ekland G, Jacobsen B. Socio-economic versus obstetric risk factors for drug addiction in offspring. British Journal of Addiction 1992; 87: 1669-76.
4. Spector LG, Klebanoff MA, Feusner JH, Georgieff MK, Ross JA. Childhood cancer following neonatal oxygen supplementation. The Journal of Pediatrics 2005; 147: 27-31.
5. Naumburg E, Bellocco R, Cnattingius S, Jonzon A, Ekbom A. Supplementary oxygen and risk of childhood lymphatic leukaemia. Acta Paediatrica 2002; 91: 1328-33.