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Maternal smoking during pregnancy and appetite control in offspring
A Michael Toschke1, Anna G C Ehlin, Rüdiger von Kries
1Division of Pediatric Epidemiology, Institute for Social Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich. michael@toschke.de
Aims:
Intrauterine exposure to tobacco smoke products has been associated with long-term neurobehavioral effects. Modified appetite control might explain the recently observed association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and obesity in offspring.
Methods:
Some 10,557 British adults aged 42 years born between 3-9 March 1958 were followed up in a birth cohort study (NCDS). The main outcome measure was self-reported poor appetite at age 42 years and main exposure was maternal smoking during pregnancy.
Results:
The proportion of offspring with poor appetite increased with maternal smoking during pregnancy: non-smoking 4.5%; (4.0%-5.0%), medium smoking 5.6%; (4.5%-6.8%), variable smoking 6.8%; (4.9%-9.1%) and heavy smoking 7.7%; (6.3%-9.4%). The unadjusted odds ratios for maternal smoking during pregnancy (ever/never) and poor appetite is 1.49 (1.25-1.77) and after adjustment for BMI at 42 years and other potential confounding factors it is 1.22 (1.01-1.48).
Conclusions:
Offspring of mothers who smoked during pregnancy were more likely to report a poor appetite independent of a number of potential confounding factors. Although not in the expected direction, the results suggest maternal smoking during pregnancy may influence appetite perception through a developmental influence or through confounding by social factors.