According to a new study caffeine loving women with a family history of alcohol abuse will have a hard time kicking the coffee habit when they are pregnant.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, wanted to find out whether caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism were linked with the continued use of caffeine during pregnancy.
Previous studies have linked heavy caffeine use during pregnancy with a number of problems, including reduced fetal growth and miscarriage.
In their study they asked forty-four pregnant women to complete questionnaires and provide saliva samples at three prenatal visits.
At their first visit the patients were given advice from the doctor to stop taking caffeine,and information was collected as to caffeine dependence and family history of alcoholism.
Self-reported levels of caffeine use and saliva caffeine levels at the three prenatal visits were recorded.
None of the women had apparently been treated for alcohol problems or were currently using alcohol.
It appeared that although most women eliminated or substantially reduced their caffeine consumption between pregnancy awareness and their first prenatal visit, those with a lifetime diagnosis of caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism had higher levels of caffeine use and lower rates of abstinence throughout pregnancy.
Withdrawal symptoms, functional impairment, and craving were cited as reasons they failed to eliminate or cut back on caffeine use.
It was found that as many as fifty percent of the women with both a lifetime diagnosis of caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism continued to use caffeine in amounts greater than those considered safe during pregnancy, compared to none of the women without caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism.
Women with a lifetime diagnosis of caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism also reported higher rates of past cigarette smoking and problematic alcohol use.