Maternal smoking in pregnancy, fetal development, and childhood asthma

Jouni Jaakkola, M Gissler

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    213 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    OBJECTIVES: We examined the relationships among maternal smoking in pregnancy, fetal development, and the risk of asthma in childhood. METHODS: We conducted a population-based cohort study, where all 58 841 singleton births were followed for 7 years using nationwide registries. RESULTS: Maternal smoking increased the risk of asthma (adjusted odds ratio = 1.35; 95% confidence interval = 1.13, 1.62 for high exposure). Low birthweight and preterm delivery increased the risk of asthma at the age of 7, whereas being small for gestational age did not. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal smoking in pregnancy increases the risk of asthma during the first 7 years of life, and only a small fraction of the effect seems to be mediated through fetal growth.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)136-140
    Number of pages5
    JournalAmerican Journal of Public Health
    Volume94
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2004

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