MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Svetlana Popova, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D. Senior Scientist, Social and Epidemiological Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Assistant Professor, Epidemiology Division Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto Assistant Professor, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto Graduate Faculty Associate Member, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto CAMH, 33 Russell Street, Room # T507 Toronto Ontario, Canada M5S 2S1 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Popova: We conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of internationally published and unpublished studies that reported the prevalence of FAS and/or FASD in all types of child care systems (e.g., orphanage, foster care, boarding school, adoption centre, or child welfare system). The primary objective was to estimate a pooled (combined) prevalence for FAS and FASD in various child care systems using data from existing studies that used an Active Case Ascertainment method (when researchers/clinicians actively seek and diagnose FASD cases). The available data was analyzed by using a standard statistical technique (called meta-analysis). This study revealed that the vast majority of existing studies report that the prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in the various child-care settings in the different countries is extremely high. Our analysis of these studies demonstrated that the pooled prevalence of FAS in child care settings (6%) was found to be approximately 9-30 times higher than the prevalence of FAS in the general population of North America, which is reported to range from 2 to 7 cases per 1,000 individuals in the USA and 1 per 1,000 in Canada. Thus, children in care represent a high-risk population for FASD. (more…)