Self-Reported Exposure to ETS (Environmental Tobacco Smoke), Urinary Cotinine, and Oxidative Stress Parameters in Pregnant Women—The Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Exposure to ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) is one of the most toxic environmental exposures. Objective: To investigate the association of ETS with physiological, biochemical, and psychological indicators, as well as with urine antioxidant capacity (AC) and oxidative damage to lipids in a pilot sample of healthy pregnant women. Methods: Exposure to ETS was investigated via a validated questionnaire, and urine cotinine and the marker of oxidative damage to lipids via 8-isoprostane concentrations using an ELISA kit. Urine AC was determined by the spectrophotometric Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) method. From a sample of pregnant women (n = 319, average age 30.84 ± 5.09 years) in 80, the levels of cotinine and oxidative stress markers were analyzed. Results: Among the 80 pregnant women, 5% (7.4% confirmed by cotinine) reported being current smokers and 25% reported passive smoking in the household (18.8% confirmed by cotinine). The Kappa was 0.78 for smokers and 0.22 for ETS-exposed nonsmokers. Pregnant women in the ETS-exposed group had significantly reduced AC compared to both the nonsmoker (ETS−) and the smoker groups (p < 0.05). Nonsmokers had significantly lower levels of 8-isoprostane than smokers (p < 0.01) and ETS-exposed nonsmokers (p < 0.05). Correlations between urine levels of cotinine and AC were positive in ETS-exposed nonsmokers. Conclusion: A harmful association of active and passive smoking and oxidative stress parameters among pregnant women has been indicated.

Differences in oxidative stress profile in adolescents smoking waterpipe versus cigarettes: The Irbid TRY Project

“…In adult smokers, an increase in DNA oxidation (Mesaros, Arora, Wholer, Vachani, & Blair, 2012), lipid peroxidation, and alteration in catalase, SOD, GPx activity and glutathione level (Arja et al, 2013;Li et al, 2007;Miri, Saadati, Ardi, & Firuzi, 2012;Ozbay & Dulger, 2002) were observed in different body fluids when compared with nonsmokers. Exposure of pregnant women to active or passive Cg smoking induced oxidative stress in the placenta (Argalasova et al, 2019;Sbrana et al, 2011). In addition, lower concentrations of catalase and total antioxidative capacity were reported in the umbilical cord blood of smokers than nonsmokers (Aycicek & Ipek, 2008).…”

The Effect of Aerobic and Resistance Exercise on Oxidative Stress during Pregnancy: A Non-randomized Controlled Trial

“…There are several limitations to this study. First, even though we controlled for several factors, including obesity [63], mental health [64], passive smoking [65], iodine deficiency [66], and exercise habits [67], other factors may also affect oxidative stress and should be investigated. Second, even though we measured stress markers at two points, we did not assess long-term outcomes.…”

Maternal Urinary Cotinine Concentrations During Pregnancy Predict Infant BMI Trajectory After Birth: Analysis of 89617 Mother-Infant Pairs in the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

“…The reasons for the undecided conclusions: first, low socioeconomic status followed by low birth weight and less breast milk in smoking mothers can be confounded with childhood obesity; second, there are no standardized methods for quantifying smoking doses, and the difficulty in estimating concentrations of smoking substances by questionnaires limits the interpretations of tobacco substances. Measuring the urinary concentration of cotinine, a nicotine metabolite, is useful for estimating accurate tobacco intake ( 6 , 7 , 14 ). Therefore, the relationship between tobacco substances and BMI trajectory in childhood can be interpreted more precisely by minimizing the above confounding factors.…”