Parental smoking and children’s respiratory health: independent effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure

Abstract

Objectives:Adverse effects have been reported of prenatal and/or postnatal passive exposure to smoking on children’s health. Uncertainties remain about the relative importance of smoking at different periods in the child’s life. We investigate this in a pooled analysis, on 53 879 children from 12 cross-sectional studies—components of the PATY study (Pollution And The Young).Methods:Effects were estimated, within each study, of three exposures: mother smoked during pregnancy, parental smoking in the first two years, current parental smoking. Outcomes were: wheeze, asthma, “woken by wheeze”, bronchitis, nocturnal cough, morning cough, “sensitivity to inhaled allergens” and hay fever. Logistic regressions were used, controlling for individual risk factors and study area. Heterogeneity between study-specific results, and mean effects (allowing for heterogeneity) were estimated using meta-analytical tools.Results:There was strong evidence linking parental smoking to wheeze, asthma, bronchitis and nocturnal cough, with mean odds ratios all around 1.15, with independent effects of prenatal and postnatal exposures for most associations.Conclusions:Adverse effects of both pre- and postnatal parental smoking on children’s respiratory health were confirmed. Asthma was most strongly associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy, but postnatal exposure showed independent associations with a range of other respiratory symptoms. All tobacco smoke exposure has serious consequences for children’s respiratory health and needs to be reduced urgently.

Maternal overweight before pregnancy and asthma in offspring followed for 8 years

“…[1][2][3] For example, studies on maternal nutrition during pregnancy showed that certain foods or nutrients decreased the risk of childhood asthma. [26][27][28] Challier et al 7 showed that pregnant obese women have higher serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines than normal weight pregnant women.…”

“…Literature suggests a higher asthma risk in children who were exposed in utero to smoking, allergic reactions in the mother and certain nutrients. [1][2][3] Maternal overweight is another factor that could influence the development of the lungs and immune system during fetal life and thereby affect the asthma risk during childhood. Overweight has been associated with increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein, and leptin, also during pregnancy.…”

The association between environmental tobacco smoke exposure and childhood respiratory disease: a review

“…Antenatal or early-life ETS exposure, from maternal, household, or community contacts, may impact on the susceptibility of the infant to develop respiratory disease and impair lung development [10,11]. However, the effects of postnatal tobacco smoke exposure may also be substantial, leading to poorer respiratory health [12]. …”

Important research questions in allergy and related diseases: nonallergic rhinitis: a GA2LEN paper

“…These include the ECRHS-I and II (FP3, FP4 and FP5) (38,139), AIRALLERG (Effects of outdoor and indoor air pollution on the development of allergic disease in children, FP5) (140,141), Health effects of particles from motor engine exhaust and ambient air pollution, FP5 (142), PATY (Pollution and the young combined analyses of cross-sectional studies of respiratory health of children and air pollution, FP5) (143)(144)(145) and Respiratory Allergy and Inflammation due to Air Pollution (FP5) (146). BioAir (FP5), a longitudinal assessment of clinical course and biomarkers in severe chronic airway disease, has used modern clinical measurements and the exploitation of new molecular methods to define biomarkers of chronic airway inflammation and remodeling.…”