The Effect of Chemical Compounds from Cigarettes Smoke on First Trimester Biochemical Markers

Abstract

Previous studies showed that certain behavioral and physical parameters influence the concentration of first trimester biochemical markers. The scope of the present article was to study the relationship between smoking and first trimester screening biochemical markers and the capability of the software to counterbalance this influence. Concentrations of pregnancy-associated protein A (PAPP-A) and free b chorionic gonadotropin hormone (free b hCG) were measured in sera of 1554 first trimester pregnant women, 1349 of which were non-smokers and 205 were smokers. First trimester PAPP-A values are lower in smoking compared to non-smoking pregnant women (0.94�0.04 vs. 1.09�0.02, p=0.0004), since smoking seems not to influence free b hCG concentration (1.11�0.07 vs. 1.03�0.02, ns). The software used by us corrected successfully the effect of chemical compounds from cigarette smoke on PAPP-A values.