Abstract
BackgroundInfant neurobehaviour provides an insight into the development of the central nervous system during infancy, with behavioural abnormalities highlighting a cause for concern. Research has demonstrated that prenatal exposure to cigarettes leads to deficits within neurobehavioural development, along with negative birth outcomes detrimental to subsequent development. With the growing use of e-cigarettes amongst pregnant women, this study explores how prenatal e-cigarette exposure compares to prenatal cigarette exposure.MethodsEighty-three infants were involved in the study, either exposed prenatally to cigarettes or e-cigarettes or not exposed to either. Differences were assessed between these three groups for birth outcomes and scores on the Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale (NBAS) at one month of age.FindingsBoth cigarette and e-cigarette exposed infants had a significantly greater number of abnormal reflexes (p = ·001; p = ·002). For both self-regulation and motor maturity, cigarette exposed infants performed significantly worse (p = ·010; p = ·002), with e-cigarette exposed infants having decreased motor maturity (p = ·036) abilities and marginally decreased for self-regulation (p = ·057). Birth outcomes, namely birthweight, gestation and head circumference, did not differ for e-cigarette exposed infants compared with infants who were not prenatally exposed to nicotine. Cigarette exposed infants had a significantly lower birthweight (p = ·021) and reduced head circumference (p = ·008) in comparison to non-exposed infants.InterpretationTo our knowledge, this is the first research study assessing a neurological outcome as a result of e-cigarette exposure. Findings of this have potentially important implications for public health policies regarding the safety and use of e-cigarettes throughout pregnancy.FundingThis research was funded by a doctoral training partnership scholarship via the ESRC, ES/P000762/1.
Highlights
Reducing smoking during pregnancy is a key public health priority due to a range of detrimental birth outcomes, including intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weight (
It was hypothesised that there would be a significant difference in birth outcomes between cigarette exposed and non-exposed infants, but no significant difference between e-cigarette exposed and non-exposed infants
The results regarding the birth outcomes indicate that, in contrast to previous research [23,24], there is no significant difference between cigarette exposed and non-exposed infants for gestation at birth
Summary
Reducing smoking during pregnancy is a key public health priority due to a range of detrimental birth outcomes, including intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weight (
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