Estimating the prevalence of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder in Australia

Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is caused by prenatal alcohol exposure and characterised by severe neurodevelopmental impairment. Australian studies have reported prenatal alcohol exposure prevalence of between 14% and 78% of births. Estimating national FASD prevalence in the general population using gold-standard active case ascertainment is costly and time-consuming, and alternative approaches are required.
Using a published equation for the risk of FASD following prenatal alcohol exposure (estimated from an international meta-analysis) and a pooled estimate of prenatal alcohol exposure prevalence in Australia (from a meta-analysis of 78 studies reporting 16 large general population-based birth cohorts between 1975 and 2018), researchers estimated the population prevalence of FASD and confidence intervals were determined.
Estimated FASD prevalence in the general population was 3.64% (95% confidence interval 2.91%, 4.41%). The estimated FASD prevalence in the general population of Australia was comparable to that of other high-income countries (e.g., USA, Canada). The authors comment that although certain vulnerable populations likely have significantly higher FASD prevalence, this estimate provides a baseline for the general population to inform service development and strategies for prevention of FASD and guide future research.
Source: Tsang TW, Rosenblatt DH, Parta I, Elliott EJ. Estimating the prevalence of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Australia. Drug and Alcohol Review, 2025.