Background. We aimed to evaluate the association between maternal smoking and the occurrence of childhood refractive error and amblyopia. Methods. Relevant articles were identified from PubMed and EMBASE up to May 2015. Combined odds ratio (OR) corresponding with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to evaluate the influence of maternal smoking on childhood refractive error and ambly...

BACKGROUND Maternal smoking during pregnancy has detrimental effects on the respiratory health of infants and children. Polymorphisms of antioxidant genes including glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) have been proposed as candidates for asthma and reduced lung function in children. METHODS Women enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children reported smoking habits during preg...

BACKGROUND Studies have found a consistent positive association between maternal smoking and non-syndromic orofacial clefts (NSOFC). However, no comprehensive assessment of the association between NSOFC and passive smoking has been undertaken. This systematic review and meta-analysis explores the relationship between maternal passive smoking and NSOFC, and compares the associations between pass...

BACKGROUND Maternal smoking during pregnancy has been associated with increased risk of childhood overweight/obesity defined by body mass index (BMI). We examined its association with a range of adiposity measures and cardiovascular indicators in children aged 3-10 years. METHODS We used data from a cross-sectional study of schoolchildren across mainland Portuguese districts (2009-2010). We a...

Infants of smokers have much higher rates of respiratory infection, asthma and airway disease. The current study assessed the effects of maternal smoking in pregnancy on neonatal toll-like-receptor (TLR)-mediated immune responses as a possible contributing factor to the elevated rates of respiratory illness. In a prospective birth cohort, the cord blood immune responses of neonates of smoking a...

BACKGROUND We previously reported that a number of factors related to maternal lifestyle during early pregnancy, including smoking, are associated with childhood obesity at 5 years of age. In the present study, we investigated whether the association with maternal smoking persisted to the age of 9-10 years. METHODS The study population comprised children born between April 1, 1991 and March 3...

Background Preterm birth significantly affects the neonates’ survival. It also increases the risk of neonatal complications, prolongs the hospitalization period, and imposes high costs on the public health system. This study is aimed to assess the risk factors of the preterm birth. Materials and Methods This case-control stud...

BACKGROUND Given the health impacts of smoking during pregnancy and the opportunity for primary healthcare teams to encourage pregnant smokers to quit, our primary aim was to assess the completeness of gestational smoking status recording in primary care data and investigate whether completeness varied with women's characteristics. As a secondary aim we assessed whether completeness of recordin...

Conduct problems in childhood and adolescence are significant precursors of crime and violence in young adulthood. The purpose of the current study is to test the interaction between prenatal maternal smoking and COMT Val(158)Met in conduct problems and crime in the 1993 Pelotas Birth Cohort Study. Conduct problems were assessed through the parent version of the Strengths and Difficulties Quest...

Possible in utero effects of maternal smoking on hemopoietic cancer in the offspring have been addressed previously, although the results are inconclusive. In this investigation, we take advantage of population-based registers in Sweden to examine maternal smoking during pregnancy and childhood risk of leukemia and lymphoma. Prospective data were available from 1,440,542 Swedish children born b...