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Correlation between self-reported smoking status and serum cotinine during pregnancy
Sarah D McDonald1, Sherry L Perkins, Mark C Walker
1The Ottawa Hospital and University of Ottawa, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ottawa, ON, Canada. samcdonald@ottawahospital.on.ca
Addictive Behaviors
|April 19, 2005
Summary
Maternal smoking self-reports are highly accurate for identifying smoking status during pregnancy. This finding suggests self-reporting can reliably replace costly biochemical tests like serum cotinine for assessing tobacco exposure.
Area of Science:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Public Health
- Clinical Chemistry
Background:
- Maternal smoking is linked to negative perinatal outcomes.
- Biochemical tests like serum cotinine are used to verify smoking status but increase costs.
- Concerns about underreporting necessitate accurate smoking assessment methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of self-reported smoking versus serum cotinine.
- To assess the correlation between self-reported cigarettes per day and serum cotinine levels.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study surveyed pregnant women in their first trimester about tobacco exposure.
- Serum cotinine levels were used as the gold standard for biochemical verification.
- Data from 40 smokers and 40 non-smokers were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Self-reported smoking status demonstrated high sensitivity (97.6%) and perfect specificity (100%).
- A strong overall Spearman correlation (0.92) was found between reported cigarettes and cotinine levels.
- Serum cotinine levels were significantly higher in smokers (155 ng/l) than non-smokers (1 ng/l).
Conclusions:
- Self-reported smoking during pregnancy is a highly accurate method for assessing tobacco exposure.
- Self-reporting serves as a robust and reliable surrogate for serum cotinine measurements.
- Accurate smoking status assessment can improve perinatal care and outcomes.
