Smoking cessation support and obstetric outcomes in an Irish maternity hospital

Abstract

Background: Most European countries have seen a decrease in the prevalence of adolescent smoking. This decrease has, however, been patterned by gender. Girls' smoking rates have now overtaken boys' in many European countries. The two genders may not, however, share the same smoking beliefs and this could explain differences between the genders in smoking prevalence. We describe gender differences in smoking beliefs and investigate variations between countries, along with their gender context. Methods: In 2016, we conducted the SILNE R study (Smoking Inequalities Learning from Natural Experiments -Renew) in 55 schools located in seven European countries: . We surveyed 12,979 students aged 14-16 years (50% were girls). We classified smoking beliefs into four categories: positive individual, positive social, negative individual, and negative social beliefs. We expected girls to score higher on the last three of those categories and we hypothesized that countries with a more genderequal culture would have less gender difference in beliefs about smoking. Results: One out of two smoking beliefs differed significantly between genders. Negative social beliefs were more common in girls, while beliefs about the dating-related aspects of smoking were more common in boys. We identified Germany and Belgium as the only countries with no gender differences in any of the belief scales. No correlation was found, however, between these scales and the Gender Inequality Index. Conclusions: In some countries, gender-specific interventions might be implemented; however, two opposing strategies might be used, depending on whether such programs are aimed at boys or girls.

Electronic cigarettes and obstetric outcomes: a prospective observational study

“…Smokers are defined as people currently smoking at least one cigarette per day. Previous studies have indicated that smokers have a mean birthweight at term approximately 300 g lower than that of non‐smokers . We estimated that by using a standard deviation of ± 500 g, a statistical power of 80%, and a 5% level of significance (two‐sided), 44 women would be needed to detect a true difference in difference in birthweight means between smokers and non‐smokers.…”

“…Previous studies have indicated that smokers have a mean birthweight at term approximately 300 g lower than that of non-smokers. 22,23 We estimated that by using a standard deviation of AE 500 g, a statistical power of 80%, and a 5% level of significance (two-sided), 44 women would be needed to detect a true difference in difference in birthweight means between smokers and nonsmokers. As EC users were an unknown entity without published birthweight estimates, we compared EC users with a larger group of smokers (99) and non-smokers (108) to ensure detection of a minimum difference of 300 g, assuming 80% power.…”

Effect of antenatal depression on adverse birth outcomes in Gondar town, Ethiopia: A community-based cohort study

“…The risk of LBW was 2.19 times higher among study participants who had tobacco smoke exposure during pregnancy. Tobacco exposure as a risk factor for low birth weight has been reported in studies from developed countries [87,89,90]. Potential mechanisms underlying this association include an increased concentration of cotinine and nicotine in the amniotic fluid of the newborn leading to nicotine-induced placental vasoconstriction, a reduced blood oxygen uptake, increases in carboxyhemoglobin, or an increased occurrence of placental vascular disease, all of which affect fetal growth [91].…”

Smoking cessation Through Optimisation of clinical care in Pregnancy: the STOP randomised controlled trial

“…A higher proportion of continued cigarette smoking is encountered in lower socioeconomic groups. Our previous research shows that the needs of pregnant smokers are largely unmet and under-resourced [19]. Smokers are a different population to non-smokers.…”

“…An anticipated challenge for this study is retention of participants in the clinical trial, as our previous work has shown a relatively high rate of non-attendance amongst smokers for antenatal clinic appointments [19]. Additionally, should a smoker develop certain complications (most commonly, diagnosis of gestational diabetes requiring metformin or insulin treatment), she will require transfer out to another specialist antenatal clinic, leading to drop out.…”