of this mixed race population are rather unique regarding their physical, nutritional, socioeconomic status, and historically unique relationship to alcohol. But, multiple studies of FASD in ZA have demonstrated that the sample mothers are extraordinarily forthcoming and reliable in reporting alcohol use. We think that these conditions make the link between detailed alcohol use information and child diagnosis more accurate and valid, but the study can be criticized for relying on self-reported information. Third, the outcome variables utilized in this study are diagnostic variables of both child physical traits and cognitive/behavioral performance drawn from clinical exams. While these are measured by highly experienced professionals from multiple disciplines, and few human studies of FASD have the benefit of multiple measures of alcohol use to pair with these specific outcome measures, some have questioned the accuracy of specific diagnostic categories within the FASD continuum. Forth, while it would be desirable to collect biological samples for analyzing biomarkers of alcohol and drug use, genetic risk factors, and epigenetic influences, we did not. Therefore, more detailed studies of the molecular influence of prenatal alcohol exposure in humans await further study.
