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RESEARCHERS FOUND NO CONSISTENT, NEGATIVE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PRENATAL COCAINE EXPOSURE AND PHYSICAL GROWTH
27 March 2001 - Boston University
| Researchers at Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health have found there is no consistent, negative association between prenatal cocaine exposure and physical growth, developmental test scores, or receptive or expressive language. The study, which appears in the March 27, 2001, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that prenatal exposure to tobacco, marijuana or alcohol, and the quality of the child's post natal environment may contribute more to developmental impairments than cocaine exposure. |
Researchers at Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health have found there is no consistent, negative association between prenatal cocaine exposure and physical growth, developmental test scores, or receptive or expressive language. The study, which appears in the March 27, 2001, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that prenatal exposure to tobacco, marijuana or alcohol, and the quality of the child's post natal environment may contribute more to developmental impairments than cocaine exposure. Evaluating data from 36 studies dating back to 1984, the researchers reviewed post-neonatal outcomes of children exposed to cocaine in five domains: physical growth; cognition; language; motor and behavior. "The widespread popular belief that a mother's cocaine use inflicts unique and permanent damage on the child's development rests on uncritical reading of studies which did not conform to the principles of careful science," said study lead author Deborah Frank, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine and a pediatrician at Boston Medical Center. "In the majority of the research we analyzed, we did not find a negative association of prenatal cocaine exposure, independent of environmental risk and prenatal exposure to other psychoactive substances with developmental test scores from infancy to six years," she added. "As rates of cocaine addiction soared in the late 1980's and early 1990's, the media described these children as 'doomed,' a biologic underclass of children unable to learn or love. That is simply not the case. In fact, the research suggests that poverty plays a much more destructive role in these children's lives than prenatal cocaine exposure," she added.
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Boston University has a well-deserved reputation for excellence in research in a wide range of disciplines and a demonstrated commitment to fostering innovative interdisciplinary research. The Office of the Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Education supports the University in facilitating research at the both the student and faculty levels.Our mission is to enhance and encourage research at Boston University and to provide a climate conducive to maintaining the University at the cutting edge of research and scholarly activities. We work with the Boston University community to plan and coordinate interdisciplinary research and represent the University in research matters related to Inter-University consortia. To encourage new, innovative, and cross-disciplinary efforts, this office administers the Special Program for Research Initiation Grants (SPRInG). We showcase graduate research at Science & Technology Day. This annual event features nearly 200 research posters by graduate students from both the Medical and Charles River Campuses working in a wide range of disciplines. Our annual research magazine, Research at Boston University, informs a wide audience about a selection of our significant research findings and ongoing studies at Boston University. We also maintain a strong presence on the web through this site and through the Science Coalition’s website, which brings our research successes to the attention of Congress and other policy makers in the federal government. To assist Boston University researchers, this office oversees the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and coordinates with the Office of Sponsored Programs on the Charles River Campus , the research administration on the Medical Campus, the Office of Research Compliance, and the various graduate programs. For the development of commercially viable ideas, we administer the Provost's Innovation Fund and work closely with the Office of Technology Transfer. We also coordinate proposals where there are institutional limits to the number of proposals that may be submitted, cost sharing requirements, significant laboratory renovations, or other special circumstances. This office assists departments and centers to achieve a diverse faculty and graduate student body through our membership and activities with the Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate and through our affiliation with the Clare Boothe Luce program of the Henry Luce Foundation. |
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