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Smoking during pregnancy and its effects on child cognitive ability from the ages of 8 to 12 years
1Christchurch Child Development Study, Department of Paediatrics, Christchurch School of Medicine, New Zealand.
Insights
Maternal smoking during pregnancy did not directly impact child cognitive development. Socioeconomic factors, not smoking itself, were linked to lower test scores in children whose mothers smoked.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Maternal smoking during pregnancy is a known risk factor for adverse child outcomes.
- The direct impact of prenatal smoke exposure on long-term cognitive development requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and child cognitive abilities up to age 12.
- To determine if socioeconomic factors mediate the relationship between prenatal smoke exposure and cognitive outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a New Zealand birth cohort followed to age 12 years.
- Bivariate and multivariate analyses of cognitive test scores (intelligence, reading, math) adjusted for confounding covariates.
Main Results:
- Bivariate analysis indicated lower cognitive scores in children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy.
- After adjusting for confounding factors, no significant relationship was found between maternal smoking and child cognitive ability.
- Children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy were more likely to come from disadvantaged home environments.
Conclusions:
- The observed lower cognitive scores in children exposed to maternal smoking in utero are likely attributable to socioeconomic and environmental factors, not a direct causal effect of smoking.
- Interventions should address socioeconomic disparities to mitigate potential negative impacts on child development.
Abstract:
Maternal smoking during pregnancy and subsequent child cognitive development and ability were examined in a birth cohort of New Zealand children studied to the age of 12 years. Analysis at a bivariate level showed that children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy scored significantly lower on standardised tests of intelligence, reading and mathematical ability than children whose mothers did not smoke. However, after adjustment for confounding covariates, the results showed no detectable relationship between smoking during pregnancy and child cognitive ability. These results suggest that children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy fared worse on tests of cognitive ability not because of possible causal effects of smoking, but rather because these children tended to come from families which provided a relatively disadvantaged home environment.