Changes in parental smoking during pregnancy and risks of adverse birth outcomes and childhood overweight in Europe and North America: An individual participant data meta-analysis of 229,000 singleton births.
Elise M PhilipsSusana SantosLeonardo TrasandeJuan J AurrekoetxeaHenrique BarrosAndrea von BergAnna BergströmPhilippa K BirdSonia BrescianiniCarol Ní ChaoimhMarie Aline CharlesLida ChatziCécile ChevrierGeorge P ChrousosNathalie CostetRachel CriswellSarah R CrozierMerete Åse EggesbøMaria Pia FantiniSara FarchiFrancesco ForastiereMarleen M H J van GelderVagelis GeorgiuKeith M GodfreyDavide GoriWojciech HankeBarbara HeudeDaniel HryhorczukCarmen IñiguezHazel M InskipAnne M KarvonenLouise C KennyInger KullDeborah A LawlorIrina LehmannPer MagnusYannis ManiosErik MelénMonique MommersCamilla S MorgenGeorge MoschonisDeirdre MurrayEllen Aagaard NohrAnne-Marie Nybo AndersenEmily OkenAdriëtte J J M OostvogelsEleni PapadopoulouJuha PekkanenCostanza PizziPolańska KingaDaniela PortaLorenzo RichiardiSheryl L Rifas-ShimanHussein JamaladinFranca RusconiAna Cristina SantosThorkild I A SørensenMarie StandlCamilla StoltenbergJordi SunyerElisabeth ThieringCarel ThijsMaties TorrentTanja G M VrijkotteJohn WrightOleksandr ZvinchukRomy GaillardVincent W V JaddoePublished in: PLoS medicine (2020)
We observed that as compared to nonsmoking during pregnancy, quitting smoking in the first trimester is associated with the same risk of preterm birth and small size for gestational age, but with a higher risk of childhood overweight. Reducing the number of cigarettes, without quitting, has limited beneficial effects. Paternal smoking seems to be associated, independently of maternal smoking, with the risk of childhood overweight. Population strategies should focus on parental smoking prevention before or at the start, rather than during, pregnancy.