October 21 2002

Health

Over The Edge Page 7

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
100% preventable and yet ever too common

By Andrea Larson

Most university students
don’t think about getting preg-
nant let alone the kinds of
changes that pregnancy would
cause in their lives. In North
America 3 - 30 children in
10,000 are born with fetal alco-
hol syndrome, making it the
leading cause of non heredi-
tary mental retardation. What
makes this syndrome so sad is
the fact that it is entirely pre-
ventable.

Fetal Alcohol syndrome
(FAS) is caused when a preg-
nant woman drinks during
pregnancy. Because alcohol
easily passes through the pla-
centa the growing fetus has
the same blood alcohol level
as the mother. However, the
developing child does not have
the same potential for metabo-
lizing alcohol as the mother
and the alcohol persists in the

child’s system long after it has
passed out of the mothers
system.

Symptoms of FAS are
incredibly variable due to the
fact that alcohol influences all
the different systems
as they develop. The
classical physical
symptoms of FAS are
generally associated
with facial features
including small eye
sand eye problems, a
flat mid-face, short
upturned nose and a
smooth thin upper lip.
In addition, children
with FAS can often
have heart and liver
defects and joint and
spinal problems.

While the physical symp-
toms are problematic the neu-
rological problems are much
more serious. The areas of the

alcohol.

brain that are most affected in
children with FAS are the pre-
frontal cortex and the corpus
collosum. The prefrontal cor-
tex is highly related to behav-
ioral functions such as, inhibi-

This is your babies brain, this is your babies brain on

Please don’t drink while you are pregnant.

tions, problem solving, plan-
ning and time perception. This
causes children with FAS to
have trouble with concentra-
tion and memory.

The overall effects on the
unborn child depend on when
during her pregnancy a
woman drinks. During the first
trimester alcohol tends to
interfere with the migration and
organization of brain
cells, while during the
second semester the
more typical clinical
physical features of
FAS. Drinking in the
third trimester gener-
ally leads to difficulty
with encoding audito-
ry and visual informa-
tion.

The physical signs
of FAS become less
pronounced as a child
matures, but the
social problems only get
worse. Underdeveloped social
skills resulting from prenatal
exposure to alcohol cause
children with FAS to have diffi-

culty performing in school,
keeping jobs or even maintain-
ing relationships.

Children with FAS can learn
to function and interact in nor-
mal society, but they must
work harder and start earlier
than normal children.

FAS can be prevented in
every case, but unfortunately
young women are often
unaware of the full implications
of their actions or are in denial
about being pregnant and con-
tinue with unhealthy actions
during their pregnancy.

“If the agent was, say some-
thing in bathroom cleaner,
people would just stay away
from it,” West says, “However,
since it is alcohol, and they
don’t want to give it up, they
are interested in how much
they can ‘get away with’.”

Mental illness a reality for students
Drugs over-prescribed say doctors

By Adam Grachnik

OTTAWA (CUP) — Young
people, especially women, are
being hospitalized with mental
illness at alarming rates, a new
report shows.

The study ‘A Report on
Mental Illness in Canada’ is
the first on the state of mental
health in Canada.

It concludes, “young people,
especially younger women,
are being hospitalized at peak
rates for mental illnesses such
as depression, anxiety and
personality disorder.”

The report also explains
“adolescent women in this
group [aged 15 to 19] have a
high rates of hospitalization for
eating disorders, attempted
suicide, anxiety disorders and
depression.”

In general, the report states,
“young people aged 25 to 44
represent almost 50 per cent
of all hospitalization for mental
illness.”

For Alexa McDonough,
leader of the New Democratic
Party (NDP), these findings
present a major problem.

“Its a very great concern,”

she said outside the House of
Commons. “There is a specific
focus on youth and specific
focus on the high degree of
mental illness among youth.
There is a horrendously high
suicide rate.”

In 1998, the report states,
3,699 Canadians died as a
result of suicide, which
accounts for 24 per cent of all
deaths among 15 to 24 year
olds.

Doctors across the country
aren't surprised with the
reports findings either.

“A full 25 per cent of what |
see is depression, 10 per cent
is anxiety,” said Dr. Tyson
Mack, senior physician
University of Saskatchewan
student health centre.

Dr. David Mensynk a psy-
chologist _at Dalhousie
University’s counselling and
psychology centre, believes
the reasons for the inflated
numbers are quite evident.

“Seeing a psychiatrist for
depression or anxiety is far
more acceptable, than it used
to be,” he said. “More people
are coming forward. There

used to be a negative stigma
[about seeing a psychologist].
It is much less so now.
[However] now there are more
stresses for women and man
on university campuses.”

“(I’s] hard on students to
juggle a full-time academic
program and having to work.
[It] creates increasing
demand,” he added.

Dr. Mack agreed that stu-
dents are dealing with more
stress.

“Academic «stress is top
stress for sure. Tuition is clear-
ly out passing inflation, caus-
ing students a lot of stress” he
said, adding that a high rate of
mental illness also had to do
with students adapting to a
new environment and often
leaving home for the first time.

Dr. Mensynk further believed
that some doctors have also
been to quick to prescribe anti-
depression drugs, which also
works to inflate the numbers.

“Depression is on the raise,
but anti-depressants are being
over prescribed,” he said.
“Increase is higher than the
need.”

For McDonough, the major
problem lies with the funding
provided for health care by the
current liberal government.

“There are a number of
things that are contributing to
this in many ways,’ said
McDonough. “[It] underscores
the fact that mental health is
the greatest victims of this
government's health cutback. |
don’t think there is any ques-
tion about that.”

“In some senses mental
health generally is the orphan
of the health care system. The
Government has simply not
been prepared to ensure the
resources are being directed

to the mental health system, to
deal with either preventive or
treatment measures,” she
added.

The report states that the
onset of most mental illnesses
first occurs during adoles-
cences and young adulthood.
Dr. Mack said that students
must “seek help if feeling
unwell. Talk to friends, family
[and] if not working go to [your]
student health clinic”

The study was lead by
Health Canada and facilitated
by the Mood Disorders Society
of Canada in collaboration with
nine other organizations.

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