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Pediatrics

Fetal exposure to maternal active and secondhand smoking with offspring early-life growth in the Healthy Start study

International Journal of Obesity volume 43, pages 652–662 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

Previous studies have modeled the association between fetal exposure to tobacco smoke and body mass index (BMI) growth trajectories, but not the timing of catch-up growth. Research on fetal exposure to maternal secondhand smoking is limited.

Objectives

To explore the associations between fetal exposure to maternal active and secondhand smoking with body composition at birth and BMI growth trajectories through age 3 years.

Methods

We followed 630 mother-child pairs enrolled in the Healthy Start cohort through age 3 years. Maternal urinary cotinine was measured at ~ 27 weeks gestation. Neonatal body composition was measured using air displacement plethysmography. Child weight and length/height were abstracted from medical records. Linear regression models examined the association between cotinine categories (no exposure, secondhand smoke, active smoking) with weight, fat mass, fat-free mass, and percent fat mass at birth. A mixed-effects regression model estimated the association between cotinine categories and BMI.

Results

Compared to unexposed offspring, birth weight was significantly lower among offspring born to active smokers (−343-g; 95% CI: −473, −213), but not among offspring of women exposed to secondhand smoke (−47-g; 95% CI: −130, 36). There was no significant difference in the rate of BMI growth over time between offspring of active and secondhand smokers (p = 0.58). Therefore, our final model included a single growth rate parameter for the combined exposure groups of active and secondhand smokers. The rate of BMI growth for the combined exposed group was significantly more rapid (0.27 kg/m2 per year; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.69; p < 0.01) than the unexposed.

Conclusions

Offspring prenatally exposed to maternal active or secondhand smoking experience rapid and similar BMI growth in the first three years of life. Given the long-term consequences of rapid weight gain in early childhood, it is important to encourage pregnant women to quit smoking and limit their exposure to secondhand smoke.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Stephen Brindley for performing the laboratory analysis of cotinine.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01DK076648, UG3OD023248, R01ES02293403, R01GM121081, K99ES028711) .

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA

    Brianna F. Moore, Anne P. Starling & Dana Dabelea

  2. Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Sheryl Magzamen

  3. Center for Evidence-based Policy, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Curtis S. Harrod

  4. Department of Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University-Portland State University School of Public Health, Portland, OR, USA

    Curtis S. Harrod

  5. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA

    William B. Allshouse & John L. Adgate

  6. Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA

    Brandy M. Ringham & Deborah H. Glueck

  7. Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora CO, USA

    Dana Dabelea

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Contributions

The authors’ responsibilities were as follows: BFM, APS, SM, JLA, and DD designed the work of this study. CSH, WBA, BMR, and DHG contributed to the data acquisition and interpretation. SM, JLA, and DD supervised. BFM, BMR, and DHG performed the statistical analyses. BFM wrote the manuscript. APS, SM, CSH, WBA, JLA, BMR, DHG, and DD provided critical revisions to the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dana Dabelea.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Moore, B.F., Starling, A.P., Magzamen, S. et al. Fetal exposure to maternal active and secondhand smoking with offspring early-life growth in the Healthy Start study. Int J Obes 43, 652–662 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-018-0238-3

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