Assessment of chronic exposure to cigarette smoke and its change during pregnancy by segmental analysis of maternal hair nicotine

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the association between biomarkers of fetal exposure to smoking during the whole pregnancy, nicotine in maternal and newborns hair samples, and quantitative measurement of smoking intake and exposure evaluated by maternal self-reported questionnaire. Study subjects were 150 mothers and their newborns from a hospital in Barcelona. A questionnaire including smoking habits was completed in the third trimester of pregnancy and on the day of delivery. Nicotine content was measured in two subsequent segments of maternal hair accounting for the first and last months of pregnancy, and in fetal hair. The geometric mean of nicotine concentration in maternal hair discriminated between nonexposition (3.84 and 2.80 ng/mg in distal and proximal hair segment, respectively) and exposition to cigarette smoke during pregnancy (6.06 and 4.30 ng/mg in distal and proximal hair segment, respectively) (Po0.05), and between these two classes and active smoking (14.40 and 11.08 ng/mg in distal and proximal hair segment, respectively). Maternal hair nicotine was able to differentiate levels of exposure to tobacco smoke and levels of intake. Nicotine concentration in hair from newborns did not differentiate between exposure and nonexposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in nonsmoking mothers. Finally, chronic exposure to cigarette smoke during pregnancy, assessed by maternal hair nicotine, correlated negatively with anthropometric parameters of newborns.

Assessing nicotine metabolism in pregnancy—a novel approach using hair analysis

“…In the present study, we observed a mean decrease in nicotine levels from 15.6 ng/mg of hair in the first trimester to 10.1 ng/mg hair in the third trimester, without any reported reduction in smoking. Pichini et al have also reported lower nicotine levels in hair during late pregnancy [28]. This apparent acceleration in nicotine metabolism during pregnancy may be the result of the 50% pregnancy induced increased hepatic blood flow or an increased enzyme induction during gestation.…”

Tobacco and pregnancy: Overview of exposures and effects

“…Nicotine can also be measured in hair, and this depot may be useful for assessment of exposure over longer periods (Al-Delaimy, 2002). Pichini et al (2003) measured nicotine in different segments of hair from pregnant women and found this to provide a useful assessment of levels of exposure to tobacco smoke at different times during pregnancy.…”

Neonatal Urinary Cotinine Correlates With Behavioral Alterations in Newborns Prenatally Exposed to Tobacco Smoke

“…A questionnaire that included years of tobacco smoking, average number of daily smoked cigarettes and their brand, and presence of other smokers in the household was administered. From information of the questionnaire, nicotine daily intake (average number of cigarettes smoked per day multiplied by nicotine content in mg of each cigarette) was calculated (11,14). None of the woman declared the use of tobacco products other than cigarettes or consumption of illicit substances during pregnancy.…”

“…On the other hand, it has recently been shown that nicotine in different segmental of maternal hair is an adequate biomarker of chronic exposure to cigarette smoking during pregnancy, which fairly correlates with acute exposure measured by urinary cotinine concentration in the newborn (13)(14)(15).…”

“…Taking into consideration the high cost and lengthy complex procedure of hair analysis in comparison with easy, rapid, and low-cost urinary cotinine analysis, this last biomarker has a promising role to assess prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke (14).…”