Maternal lifestyle factors in pregnancy and congenital heart defects in offspring: review of the current evidence

Abstract

The prognosis of children with congenital heart defects(CHDs) continues to improve with advancing surgical techniques; however, lack of information about modifiable risk factors for malformations in cardiovascular development impeded the prevention of CHDs. We investigated an association between maternal lifestyle factors and the risk of CHDs, because epidemiological studies have reported conflicting results regarding maternal lifestyle factors and the risk of CHDs recently. A review published on 2007 provided a summary of maternal exposures associated with an increased risk of CHDs. As part of noninherited risk factors, we conducted a brief overview of studies on the evidence linking common maternal lifestyle factors, specifically smoking, alcohol, illicit drugs, caffeine, body mass index and psychological factors to the development of CHDs in offspring. Women who smoke and have an excessive body mass index(BMI) during pregnancy are suspected to be associated with CHDs in offspring. Our findings could cause public health policy makers to pay more attention to women at risk and could be used in the development of population-based prevention strategies to reduce the incidence and burden of CHDs. However, more prospective studies are needed to investigate the association between maternal lifestyle factors and CHDs.

Selected acculturation factors and birth defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997–2011

“…Interestingly, similar to the results for gastroschisis, protective findings were noted across all parental groupings only among those having lived ≤5 years in the U.S. Although the causes for most CHDs are thought to be multifactorial, with little understood about environmental exposures, in particular, various infections, medications, and maternal mental stress indicators have been associated with these defects (Dong, Binongo, & Kancherla, ; Feng et al, ; Lynch & Abel, ), and were not controlled for in our analysis, which is a limitation of the study. Further, due to small sample sizes, we were unable to examine a few specific subtypes of septal defects (e.g., ventricular septal defects, muscular), which may have provided additional information.…”

Cigarette Smoking Impairs Adipose Stromal Cell Vasculogenic Activity and Abrogates Potency to Ameliorate Ischemia

“…Cigarette smoking is one of the prominent factors that implicate in a wide array of illnesses . Based on the World Health Organization analysis, approximately 1.1 billion people currently smoke.…”

“…Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, 70 of which are known toxins or carcinogens . Smoking is strongly associated with cardiovascular , pulmonary , and immune diseases, and also with cancer , birth defects , and impaired wound healing .…”

Prevalência e fatores associados às anomalias congênitas em recém-nascidos

“…Entretanto, estudos têm demonstrado associação entre defeitos congênitos e fatores ambientais, genéticos e condições maternas, como o uso de determinadas drogas ilícitas e tabagismo. Outros fatores, como assistência materno-infantil inadequada e baixo nível socioeconômico, também são apontados como fatores associados às malformações congênitas, principalmente nos países pobres e em desenvolvimento (5)(6)(7)(8) . Pesquisas recentes destacam a preocupação com o aumento da incidência de microcefalia relacionada à epidemia do vírus Zika (ZIKV) no Brasil (9) , haja vista que puérperas sem exposição prévia aos fatores de risco já conhecidos, mas infectadas por esse vírus durante o primeiro trimestre da gravidez, tiveram bebês diagnosticados com microcefalia (10) .…”