Publication details
Pre- and postnatal parental smoking and wheeze in infancy : cross cultural differences
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2001 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | European Respiratory Journal |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Paediatry |
| Keywords | ELSPAC; infant; pregnancy; respiratory tract diseases; smoking; wheezing; tabacco smoke pollution |
| Description | In longitudinal cohort studies, the relationships between prenatal and postnatal tabacco smoke exposure and infant wheezing illnesses were compared in two geographically defined populations in Avon, UK and Brno and Znojmo in CR. Pregnant females living defined regions and with expected dates of delivery between defined dates were recruited. Females completed self-report questionnaires during pregnancy and when their infant was 6 months old. For this analysis, responses to questions about smoking during pregnancy, environmental tabacco smoke (ETS)exposure and reported wheezing illness of infants at 6 months after birth were used. Odds ratios for wheeze in relation to the smoking variables were calculated with adjustment for potential confounding effects. The prevalence of smoking during pregnancy was higher in Avon (17.5%) than the CR (7.1%). Exposure of infants to ETS during the first 6 months after birth was also reported to be higher in Avon (35.5%) than thge CR (9.7%). The prevalence of reported wheezing by 6 months of age was 21.4% in Avon and 10.3% in CR. This study demonstrated an apparent difference in the associations between prenatal and postnatal tabacco smoke exposure and infant wheezing illnesses in two populations with different smoking prevalence. The relationship were independent of a number of potential confounding variables that have been associated with infant wheezing. Possible explanations of these observations include dose-related effects of prenatal and postnatal tabacco smoke exposure of infants. |