Related Experiment Videos
Maternal smoking during pregnancy as a predictor of lung function in children
J Cunningham1, D W Dockery, F E Speizer
1Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115.
Insights
Maternal smoking during pregnancy leads to lasting lower lung function in children, even if mothers quit later. These effects on small airways persist into childhood, impacting overall pulmonary health.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Environmental Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is linked to infant lung function deficits.
- Maternal smoking during pregnancy is a significant public health concern with potential long-term consequences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and persistent lung function deficits in older children.
- To determine if current maternal smoking status modifies the effects of prenatal smoke exposure on child lung function.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 8,863 non-smoking white children aged 8-12 years from North America was studied.
- Maternal smoking history was self-reported by mothers.
- Pulmonary function testing, including measures of airflow in small airways, was conducted.
Main Results:
- Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy exhibited significantly lower lung function (FEF65-75%, FEF25-75%, FEV0.75) compared to those whose mothers did not smoke.
- These deficits persisted regardless of whether the mother continued smoking.
- Current maternal smoking status was not independently associated with lung function differences after adjusting for prenatal exposure.
Conclusions:
- Maternal smoking during pregnancy causes persistent lung function deficits in children, extending beyond infancy.
- The observed effects are most pronounced in measures of small airway function.
- These findings highlight the critical importance of avoiding maternal smoking during pregnancy to ensure optimal lifelong pulmonary health for offspring.
Abstract:
Recent studies have suggested that prenatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke may lead to lower lung function in infants. The authors examined the relation of maternal smoking during pregnancy to persistent deficits in the lung function of older children. Subjects were 8,863 nonsmoking white children aged 8-12 years from 22 North American communities. Information on maternal smoking was provided by the child's mother. Pulmonary function testing of the children was conducted at school in 1988-1991. Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy, whether or not they still smoked in the year prior to the study, had significantly lower lung function than did children whose mothers did not smoke in either period. On average, forced expiratory flow between 65 and 75 percent of forced vital capacity (FEF65-75%), forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75 percent of forced vital capacity (FEF25-75%), and forced expiratory volume in 3/4 of a second (FEV0.75) were 5.7%, 4.9%, and 1.7% lower, respectively, for children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy. After adjusting for maternal smoking during pregnancy, the authors found that current maternal smoking was not associated with significant differences on any lung function measure. These results show a persistent deficient in lung function associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy that is not explained by current maternal smoking alone. The strongest effects were observed with pulmonary function measures of flow in the small airways. The authors conclude that the effects of exposure to tobacco smoking by the mother during pregnancy and/or environmental tobacco smoke exposure in the first few years of life persist into childhood and may affect the pulmonary function attained throughout the child's life.