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Updated: Oct 20, 2025
Preclinical Model of Prenatal Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Exposure to Assess Its Impact on Neurodevelopmental Outcomes
Published on: February 28, 2025
Tobacco and Cannabis Use During Pregnancy
Joshua J H Hunsaker1, Sonia L La'ulu1, Danielle LaGrave2
1ARUP Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Objectives:
Nicotine (NIC) use during pregnancy can influence markers used in biochemical maternal serum screening. This study was designed to determine prevalence of disclosed tobacco smokers in our patient population and to compare disclosed tobacco smoking status with the presence of serum nicotine and a common tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) metabolite.
Methods:
A deidentified dataset of disclosed smoking status for quadruple (Quad) screens was obtained. Residual serum submitted for Quad screens was obtained from frozen storage and analyzed for NIC and THC metabolites.
Results:
Of specimens that had corresponding responses to the smoking history question on the patient history form, 7.2% (n = 1,783 of 24,611) specified that the patient was a tobacco smoker. Of the 271 specimens biochemically analyzed for NIC and THC metabolites, disclosed tobacco smokers had the highest prevalence of detectable NIC and THC metabolites. THC product use was most prevalent in patients categorized as probable tobacco smokers based on cotinine concentrations, as well as in younger patients.
Conclusions:
Prevalence and concentration of NIC and THC metabolites vary based on disclosed tobacco smoker status. Biochemical testing may increase sensitivity for the identification of NIC and THC status over self-reporting.
