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Prenatal tobacco exposure and brain morphology: a prospective study in young children
Hanan El Marroun1, Marcus N Schmidt1, Ingmar H A Franken2
11] The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus MC, Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands [2] The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
Continued prenatal tobacco exposure is linked to smaller brain volumes and affective problems in children. However, quitting smoking during pregnancy allows brain development to normalize, resembling that of unexposed children.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Smoking during pregnancy is a known risk factor for adverse offspring health.
- Prenatal tobacco exposure is associated with behavioral and cognitive deficits across development.
- Potential mechanisms involve prenatal tobacco's impact on offspring brain development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between prenatal tobacco exposure and brain morphology in young children.
- To examine the relationship between prenatal tobacco exposure, behavioral/emotional functioning, and brain structure.
- To assess if maternal smoking cessation during pregnancy mitigates these effects.
Main Methods:
- Prospective, population-based study (Generation R) in the Netherlands.
- Matched cohort of 113 children exposed prenatally to tobacco and 113 unexposed controls.
- Assessment of behavioral/emotional functioning at age 6 and brain morphology (MRI) at ages 6-8.
Main Results:
- Children with continued prenatal tobacco exposure showed smaller total brain and cortical gray matter volumes.
- Cortical thinning was observed in specific regions (superior frontal, parietal, precentral cortices) with continued exposure.
- Increased affective problems were noted in exposed children, linked to cortical thickness in certain areas.
- Offspring of mothers who quit smoking during pregnancy exhibited normalized brain development.
Conclusions:
- Continued prenatal tobacco exposure is associated with altered brain structure and function in school-aged children.
- Specific cortical regions are vulnerable to prenatal tobacco exposure, impacting emotional functioning.
- Maternal smoking cessation during pregnancy is crucial for mitigating negative effects on offspring brain development.
Abstract:
It is well known that smoking during pregnancy can affect offspring health. Prenatal tobacco exposure has been associated with negative behavioral and cognitive outcomes in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. These associations between prenatal tobacco exposure and psychopathology in offspring could possibly be explained by the influence of prenatal tobacco exposure on brain development. In this prospective study, we investigated the association between prenatal tobacco exposure, behavioral and emotional functioning and brain morphology in young children. On the basis of age and gender, we matched 113 children prenatally exposed to tobacco with 113 unexposed controls. These children were part of a population-based study in the Netherlands, the Generation R Study, and were followed from pregnancy onward. Behavioral and emotional functioning was assessed at age 6 with the Child Behavior Checklist. We assessed brain morphology using magnetic resonance imaging techniques in children aged 6-8 years. Children exposed to tobacco throughout pregnancy have smaller total brain volumes and smaller cortical gray matter volumes. Continued prenatal tobacco exposure was associated with cortical thinning, primarily in the superior frontal, superior parietal, and precentral cortices. These children also demonstrated increased scores of affective problems. In addition, thickness of the precentral and superior frontal cortices was associated with affective problems. Importantly, brain development in offspring of mothers who quit smoking during pregnancy resembled that of nonexposed controls (no smaller brain volumes and no thinning of the cortex). Our findings suggest an association between continued prenatal tobacco exposure and brain structure and function in school-aged children.
