The impact of intrauterine tobacco exposure on the cerebral mass of the neonate based on the measurement of head circumference

Abstract

The objective of the study was to assess cerebral mass, based on head circumference measurements in neonates exposed to tobacco smoke in utero, and to determine the relative proportions of the cerebral and body mass. The study included 147 neonates born in the period 2003–2004 at the Princess Anna Mazowiecka University Hospital and admitted to the Neonatal and Intensive Care Department of the Medical University in Warsaw. Subjects were divided into three groups on the basis of maternal status as active, passive, or nonsmokers determined by maternal urinary cotinine concentration and a questionnaire. Neonates whose mothers were active smokers throughout the whole period of pregnancy had a lower head circumference and in consequence a lower cerebral mass significantly more frequently when compared with those whose mothers were nonsmokers, P= 0.002. (Median difference in cerebral mass was 48.27 g.) The risk of lower cerebral mass was 3.9 (1.4–10.8, CI 95%) in the group of neonates whose mothers actively smoked cigarettes during pregnancy. A negative correlation was seen between cerebral mass and maternal urinary cotinine concentration (correlation coefficient r=−23, P= 0.006). The ratio of the cerebral to body mass was similar for neonates in all three groups. Active smoking during pregnancy had a negative effect on the cerebral mass of the neonate, however no such effect was observed in neonates whose mothers were passive smokers. The deficiency in cerebral mass increased with greater smoking intensity. Active smoking by the mother during pregnancy inhibits the growth of the brain as well as that of the body mass of the neonate.