Original article
Maternal smoking in early childhood: A risk factor for bronchial responsiveness to exercise in primary-school children

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3476(05)82534-XGet rights and content

The relationship between maternal smoking and bronchial hyperresponsiveness as assessed by a standardized free running test was investigated in a cohort of 1812 primary-school children in first grade. A child's exposure to maternal smoking during pregnancy, the first year of life, and the study year was recorded. Current exposure was not positively associated with bronchial hyperresponsiveness. The prevalence of this disorder was higher when maternal smoking during the child's first year of life was reported (9%) than when it was not (5.9%). The odds of being hyperresponsive were significantly higher in children exposed to maternal smoking in their first year of life (odds ratio, 2.82; 95% confidence interval, 1.25 to 6.34; p<0.01), especially in children with asthma (odds ratio, 20.55; 95% confidence interval, 2.5 to 168.9; p<0.01). Current exposure to maternal smoking was associated with less hyperresponsiveness. The effect of current maternal smoking might reflect changes in smoking habits by mothers of children with symptoms, whereas exposure to tobacco smoke in early life might be causally related to bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Our findings support the general hypothesis that early lung injuries have an impact on the later respiratory health of children.

References (28)

  • MagnussonCGM

    Maternal smoking influences cord serum IgE and IgD and increases the risk for subsequent infant allergy

    J Allergy Clin Immunol

    (1986)
  • SparrowD et al.

    The relation of airway responsiveness and atopy to the development of chronic of obstructive lung disease

    Epidemiol Rev

    (1988)
  • SametMJ et al.

    The relationship between respiratory illness in childhood and chronic airflow limitation in adulthood

    Am Rev Respir Dis

    (1983)
  • WeissST et al.

    The relationship of respiratory infections in early childhood to the occurrence of increased levels of bronchial responsiveness

    Am Rev Respir Dis

    (1985)
  • BerkeyCS et al.

    Indoor air pollution and pulmonary function growth in preadolescent children

    Am J Epidemiol

    (1986)
  • BurchfieldCM et al.

    Passive smoking in childhood

    Am Rev Respir Dis

    (1986)
  • SametJM et al.

    Health effects and sources of indoor air pollution

    Am Rev Respir Dis

    (1987)
  • StrachanD et al.

    The relationship of salivary cotinine to respiratory symptoms, spirometry and exercise-induced bronchospasm in seven-year-old children

    Am Rev Respir Dis

    (1990)
  • TagerIB et al.

    Longitudinal study of the effects of maternal smoking on pulmonary function in children

    N Engl J Med

    (1982)
  • TashkinDP et al.

    The UCLA population studies of chronic respiratory disease

    Am Rev Respir Dis

    (1984)
  • WeissST et al.

    The health effects of involuntary smoking

    Am Rev Respir Dis

    (1983)
  • LebowitzMD et al.

    Effects of parental smoking and other risk factors on the development of pulmonary function in children and adolescents

    Am J Epidemiol

    (1988)
  • WeitzmanM et al.

    Maternal smoking and childhood asthma

    Pediatrics

    (1990)
  • TaylorB et al.

    Maternal smoking during pregnancy and lower respiratory tract illness in early life

    Arch Dis Child

    (1987)
  • Cited by (78)

    • Side-stream tobacco smoke-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in early postnatal period is involved nerve growth factor

      2016, Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Interestingly, the elevated pulmonary function and SP innervation in the PD2 group was attenuated by treatment with NGF-Ab before SS exposure, indicating that the increased SP innervation and altered lung function are regulated by NGF. Epidemiological studies show that the probability of developing or exacerbating childhood asthma increases in children of mothers who smoke cigarettes (Chilmonczyk et al., 1993; Frischer et al., 1992; Gilliland et al., 2003, 2000; Ronchetti et al., 1992; Weitzman et al., 1990 Yu et al., 2008). Our recent study showed that exposure to SS during early postnatal period increased the incidence of airway hyperreactivity in adult mice (Wu et al., 2009).

    • Effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke during Early Life Stages

      2014, The Lung: Development, Aging and the Environment: Second Edition
    • Physical, behavioral, and cognitive effects of prenatal tobacco and postnatal secondhand smoke exposure

      2014, Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care
      Citation Excerpt :

      Postnatally, infancy appears to be the period associated with the highest risk of respiratory, neurological, and immunological morbidity.30,31 For example, the risk of bronchitis and pneumonia from SHS exposure is highest in infancy,15 and early postnatal SHS exposure is associated both with increased rates of hospitalization for respiratory illness and bronchial hyper-responsiveness during the first 6 months of life.32 As children get older, rates of such complications decrease, perhaps because of diminished exposure as they spend less time in the presence of parents and so have decreased SHS exposure.33

    • Housing and child health

      2013, Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care
      Citation Excerpt :

      Postnatally, the risk of respiratory, neurological, and immunological morbidity appears to be highest during infancy because these systems are not fully developed at birth.75,88,89 The risk of bronchitis and pneumonia from SHS exposure peaks during the first year of life,75 and early postnatal exposure to SHS is associated with bronchial hyperresponsiveness and hospitalization for respiratory illness within the first 6 months of life.90 The rates of the these complications decline as children grow older, possibly because they spend less time in the home as they age, thereby decreasing SHS exposure.91

    • Differential Diagnosis in Allergy

      2011, Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America
    View all citing articles on Scopus

    Supported by a grant (No. 0701565 5) from the Bundesministerium f. Forschung und Technologie, Bonn, Germany.

    View full text