Parent’s drinking history can accelerate ageing in children: Study explains how

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A recent study, led by Michael Golding, Texas A&M University (published in 2024) revealed that chronic alcohol use of both of the parents can affect their next generation as well – it can accelerate ageing in them and make them prone to diseases.

A child’s health, growth and development are directly linked to the environment that they are brought up in. When a child is brought up in a dysfunctional home, it can directly impact their physical, mental and emotional growth. The sense of family and community also depends on the parents and their behaviour to the child. Studies have shown that a father’s alcohol abuse can directly impact a child’s mental and social development.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Heavy alcohol use can lead to multiple health disorders, such as liver disease, heart problems, declining cognitive function, and accelerated aging. Parents often pass on these disorders to their children. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders refer to the physical, developmental and behavioural disorders that are passed on to school children and are related to their parent’s drinking habits.

How fetal alcohol spectrum disorders can affect children?

Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are more susceptible to early onset of adult disorders including type 2 diabetes and heart diseases. Even though cardiovascular diseases have the onset during the 40s and 50s in a healthy population – in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, they can show up during their adolescence. This can also cut down their lifespan by 40 percent.

Psychiatric disorders

People with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are also susceptible to more risk of psychiatric disorders – this can lead to more stress and anxiety, further accelerating ageing and diseases. The study further stated that the impact of both parents drinking has far more drastic effects on their children than the impact of one parent drinking. The study observed age-related liver scarring in children as an impact of both parent's drinking habits.