Effect of parental smoking on cotinine levels in newborns

Desaline Veronica Joseph ¹, Judith Ann Jackson ², Jennifer A Westaway ¹, Nick A Taub ¹, Stewart A Petersen ¹ and Michael P Wailoo ^1*

¹ University of Leicester, United Kingdom
² University of Warwick, United Kingdom

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mw33{at}le.ac.uk.

Accepted 3 April 2007

Abstract

Background: Smoking is a major risk factor for cot death. Many infants smoke passively as a result of parental smoking. We report 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: 104 infants, of whom 71 were of smoking parents and 33 non-smoking, were assessed for cotinine excretion in urine. 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 component. Co sleeping and the minimum room temperature were significant contributory factors.

Conclusion: Infants from smoking households, accumulate cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, which may have a detrimental effect on the cardio respiratory system.

Keywords: SIDS, cotinine, infant, nicotine, passive smoking

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Cohen, G., Vella, S., Jeffery, H., Lagercrantz, H., Katz-Salamon, M. (2008). Cardiovascular Stress Hyperreactivity in Babies of Smokers and in Babies Born Preterm. Circulation 118: 1848-1853 [Abstract] [Full Text]