A study suggests that infants born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy are at increased risk of developing congenital heart disease or CHD.
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| Photo: Pregnant Woman Smoking | InStyleHealth |
Study included seven European birth groups, which
comprised a total of 232,390 offspring and 2,469 CHD cases or 1.1%. CHD
prevalence was close to 1% in most cohorts, with the lowest being 0.4% and
highest at 1.4%.
The average maternal age was generally similar across the
group, all late 20s to early 30s. Same was true for average body mass index or BMI,
although the proportions in different categories varied, with the lowest prevalence
of pre-pregnancy/early-pregnancy obesity recorded at 5% and highest at 21%.
There were also differences in maternal smoking and alcohol consumption across
the group, with the highest prevalence rates being 25-26% for smoking and
45-55% for alcohol use.
Using multivariable logistic regression models revealed
that the odds of offspring were greater among women who with overweight or
obesity as opposed to normal weight. Although, no clear evidence of a linear
increase in odds was seen across the whole BMI distribution.
Outcomes for paternal overweight, obesity, and average
BMI were similar to the maternal correlations.
Maternal smoking during pregnancy conferred higher odds
of offspring CHD, while paternal smoking did not. A positive correlation seen
for maternal smoking appeared to be driven by non-severe CHD cases.
Offspring CHD revealed no correlations with maternal
moderate/heavy pregnancy alcohol consumption, as was the case with paternal
consumption.
Results emphasizes the importance of quitting smoking
during pregnancy.
Source: J Am Heart Assoc 2021;doi:10.1161/JAHA.120.020051