Epidemiology

Home Current Issue Previous Issues Published Ahead-of-Print Collections For Authors Journal Info
Skip Navigation LinksHome > July 2000 - Volume 11 - Issue 4 > Prenatal Active or Passive Tobacco Smoke Exposure and the Ri...
Epidemiology:
July 2000 - Volume 11 - Issue 4 - pp 427-433
Original Articles

Prenatal Active or Passive Tobacco Smoke Exposure and the Risk of Preterm Delivery or Low Birth Weight

Windham, Gayle C; Hopkins, Barbara; Fenster, Laura; Swan, Shanna H

Collapse Box

Abstract

We examined the association of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke with birth weight and gestational age in a large, prospective study. We also compared these endpoints between infants of active maternal smokers and those of non-smoking, non-ETS exposed women. Pregnant women were interviewed by telephone during the first trimester, and pregnancy outcome was determined for 99%. Among the 4,454 singleton live births that could be linked to their birth certificate, we confirmed increased risks of low birth weight and small for gestational age with heavier maternal smoking (>10 cigarettes/day), as well as noting an increased risk for very preterm birth (<35 weeks). These associations were generally stronger among infants of older (≥30 years) than those of younger mothers, as well as among non-whites. High environmental tobacco smoke exposure (≥7 hours/day in non-smokers) was moderately associated with low birth weight (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.8, 95% confidence limits (95% CL) = 0.82, 4.1), preterm birth (AOR 1.6, 95% CL = 0.87, 2.9), and most strongly with very preterm birth (AOR 2.4, 95% CL = 1.0, 5.3). These associations were generally greater among non-whites than whites. The data support earlier studies suggesting that prenatal environmental tobacco smoke exposure, in addition to maternal smoking, affects infant health.

© 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

You currently do not have access to this article.

You may need to:

Note: If your society membership provides for full-access to this article, you may need to login on your society’s web site first.

Article Tools

You currently do not have access to this article.

You may need to:

Note: If your society membership provides for full-access to this article, you may need to login on your society’s web site first.

Search for Similar Articles
You may search for similar articles that contain these same keywords or you may modify the keyword list to augment your search.