Effect of parental smoking on cotinine levels in newborns

Background:Smoking is a major risk factor for cot death. Many infants smoke passively as a result of parental smoking. This paper reports on infants exposed to a smoking environment and how they accumulate metabolites of cigarette smoke, such as cotinine, which may be physiologically harmful.Aim:To...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition 2007-11, Vol.92 (6), p.F484-F488
Main Authors: Joseph, D V, Jackson, J A, Westaway, J, Taub, N A, Petersen, S A, Wailoo, M P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Babies
Body temperature
Caregivers
Case-Control Studies
Cigarettes
Confidence intervals
cotinine
Cotinine - urine
Enzymes
Families & family life
Female
Health risk assessment
Households
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infants
Linear Models
Male
Metabolites
Methods
Multivariate Analysis
Nicotine
Original
Parenting
Parents
Parents & parenting
passive smoking
Physiology
Risk Factors
SIDS
Smoking
Social classes
Studies
Sudden Infant Death - etiology
Sudden Infant Death - prevention & control
Tobacco smoke
Tobacco Smoke Pollution - adverse effects
Urine
Winter
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Summary:Background:Smoking is a major risk factor for cot death. Many infants smoke passively as a result of parental smoking. This paper reports on infants exposed to a smoking environment and how they accumulate metabolites of cigarette smoke, such as cotinine, which may be physiologically harmful.Aim:To assess cotinine levels in infants of smoking parents.Method:Cotinine excretion in urine was assessed in 104 infants, of whom 71 had smoking parents and 33 had non-smoking parents. All cotinine levels were measured at approximately 12 weeks of age. The subjects were selected from a database of infants in developmental physiological studies which assessed the impact of various factors on early postnatal development.Results:On average babies with at least one parent who was a current cigarette smoker excreted 5.58 (95% CI 3.4 to 9.5) times as much cotinine in the urine as did the babies of non-smoking parents. Maternal smoking was the largest contributing factor. Co-sleeping (p = 0.037) and the minimum room temperature (p = 0.028) were significant contributory factors.Conclusion:Infants from smoking households accumulate cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, which may have a detrimental effect on the cardiorespiratory system.
ISSN:1359-2998
1468-2052
DOI:10.1136/adc.2006.108506