Effects of smoking and asthma in pregnant women

Abstract

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with risk factors inclusive of intrinsic (genetic predisposition) and extrinsic variables (environmental exposures) in early life. Studies have postulated towards probable adverse effects on maternal and child health owing to asthmatic status of the mother and in utero exposure to smoke. The ELFE cohort aimed to describe the characteristics of asthmatic and smoking mothers and compare them to non smoking non asthmatic mothers. 16,030 mothers and infants were enrolled from the general population in 2011. Interviews were conducted for collection of the variables. A descriptive analysis followed by a univariate analysis of asthmatic and smoker mothers was performed. Asthmatic women who smoked were younger (29.3 years vs 31.1 p Asthmatic mothers who smoked were at a greater risk of adverse gestational issues and in utero exposure to smoke posed risks of premature birth, low birth weight and small for gestational age to the infant.