Hair biomarkers as measures of maternal tobacco smoke exposure and predictors of fetal growth.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

Most biomarker studies of the effects of maternal smoking on fetal growth have been based on a single blood or urinary cotinine value, which is inadequate in capturing maternal tobacco exposure over the entire pregnancy. We used hair biomarkers to compare the associations of maternal self-reported smoking, hair nicotine, and hair cotinine with birth weight for gestational age (BW for GA) among active and passive smokers during pregnancy.

METHODS:

We collected maternal hair in the immediate postpartum period and measured nicotine and cotinine concentrations averaged over the pregnancy in 444 term controls drawn from 5,337 participants in a multicenter nested case-control study of preterm birth. BW for GA Z-score and small for gestational age (SGA) were based on Canadian population-based standards.

RESULTS:

The addition of hair nicotine to multiple linear regression models containing self-reported active smoking, hair cotinine, or both explained significantly more variance in the BW for GA Z-score (p = .01, .03 and .04, respectively). Similarly, women with hair nicotine, but not cotinine, at or above the median value had a significant increase in the risk of SGA birth (odds ratio: 3.07, 95% CI: 1.25-7.52). No significant association was observed between maternal passive smoking and BW for GA based on hair biomarkers.

CONCLUSIONS:

Hair nicotine is a better predictor of reductions in BW for GA than either hair cotinine or self-report. Our negative results for passive smoking suggest that previously reported small but significant effects may be explained by misclassification of active smokers as passive smokers based on self-report.

• Authors: Nisha D Almeida, Gideon Koren, Robert W Platt, Michael S Kramer
• Journal: Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (Nicotine Tob Res) Vol. 13 Issue 5 Pg. 328-35 (May 2011) ISSN: 1469-994X [Electronic] England
• PMID: 21330286 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers
• Tobacco Smoke Pollution
• Nicotine
• Cotinine

Topics

• Biomarkers (analysis)
• Birth Weight
• Canada
• Case-Control Studies
• Cohort Studies
• Cotinine (analysis, pharmacokinetics)
• Female
• Fetal Development (drug effects)
• Hair (chemistry, metabolism)
• Humans
• Maternal Exposure
• Maternal-Fetal Exchange
• Nicotine (analysis, pharmacokinetics)
• Pregnancy (metabolism)
• Self Report
• Smoking (adverse effects, metabolism)
• Tobacco Smoke Pollution (adverse effects)