Maternal Smoking during Pregnancy Increases the Risk of Postnatal Infections in Preterm Neonates

Vol. 94, No. 2, 2008

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Short Communication

Maternal Smoking during Pregnancy Increases the Risk of Postnatal Infections in Preterm Neonates
Dorthe Lisbeth Jeppesen^a, Susanne Dam Nielsen^b, Annette Kjær Ersbøll^c, Niels Henrik Valerius^a

Departments of
^aPaediatrics and
^bInfectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Hvidovre, and
^cDepartment of Large Animal Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Address of Corresponding Author

Neonatology 2008;94:75-78 (DOI: 10.1159/000113535)

Key Words

Preterm infants, infection risk
Tobacco smoking, pregnancy
Infection risk, maternal smoking

Abstract

Background: Maternal smoking during pregnancy is known to be associated with perinatal complications such as preterm delivery, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of smoking during pregnancy on the risk of postnatal infections in preterm neonates. Method: We examined 80 preterm infants (gestational age 24-36 weeks), of whom 40% had been exposed to tobacco smoking during pregnancy. Results: Infections occurred in 31 infants. Gestational age and maternal smoking had a significant effect on the occurrence of infections (p < 0.001 and p = 0.015, respectively). An increase in maternal tobacco consumption by 10 cigarettes/day showed an odds ratio of 2.7 (95% confidence interval 1.1-6.4) for occurrence of infections. Conclusions: A significant association between maternal use of tobacco and the occurrence of infections in preterm neonates was found. Thus, campaigns about the damaging effects of tobacco are still warranted.

Author Contacts

Dr. S.D. Nielsen
Department of Infectious Diseases
144, Hvidovre Hospital
DK-2650 Hvidovre (Denmark)
Tel. +45 3632 2931, Fax +45 3647 4979, E-Mail sdn@dadlnet.dk

Article Information

Received: May 22, 2007
Accepted after revision: November 16, 2007
Published online: January 22, 2008
Number of Print Pages : 4
Number of Figures : 1, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 10

Medline Abstract (ID 18212492)

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