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WORLD / Health
Higher?abortion risk if women's parents smoke
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-31 10:50
NEW YORK -- Women who were exposed to their parents' smoking as children
may have a higher likelihood of suffering a miscarriage, new research
suggests.
In a study of nearly 2,200 non-smoking pregnant women, researchers found
that those exposed to their parents' secondhand smoke during childhood
were 80 percent more likely to have a miscarriage compared with women
whose parents didn't smoke.
The findings appear in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
It's known that parents' smoking can harm developing fetuses and
children, contributing to early-life problems like low birth weights and
asthma. But this is the first study to show a link between childhood
exposure to parents' smoking and reproductive ability in adulthood,
according to lead author Dr John Meeker, University of Michigan School of
Public Health, and associates.
More research is needed to confirm the finding, Meeker, an assistant
professor of environmental health sciences, told Reuters Health. However,
he added, the results fit in with the body of research showing that
early-life exposure to environmental stressors -- including tobacco smoke
-- may have health effects that manifest in adulthood.
The findings are based on pregnancy outcomes of 2,162 women who underwent
assisted reproduction treatments at one of three Boston fertility clinics.
The researchers found that a woman's risk of miscarriage tended to go up
in relation to parents' smoking, being highest among those exposed to
secondhand smoke from both parents.
It's not fully clear why childhood exposure to tobacco smoke would affect
a woman's miscarriage risk. However, Meeker and his colleagues point out
that tobacco smoke contains thousands of chemicals, including some that
are known or thought to harm reproductive health -- such as lead, benzene
and cadmium.
The developing reproductive system in children may be particularly
vulnerable to such exposures.
"It is known that childhood is a developmentally sensitive period during
which the body is susceptible to adverse effects from hazardous
exposures," Meeker explained.
"Children of smokers can experience very high levels of secondhand smoke
exposure at home, in the family car, and in other locations."
There is "more than enough" evidence from medical studies to tell us that
children need to be shielded from secondhand smoke, according to Meeker.
"Our results," he said, "suggest that we should prevent these exposures
not only for the health of our children, but perhaps our grandchildren as
well."
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