Maternal prenatal smoking linked to conduct disorder symptoms in offspring

Maternal smoking during pregnancy may increase risk for conduct disorder symptoms among offspring, according to study results published in Journal of Psychiatric Research.

“Although the exact cause of [conduct disorder] remains unclear, it has been proposed that a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, social and psychological factors play a significant role in its development,” Bereket Duko, of the Curtin School of Population Health at Curtin University in Australia, and colleagues wrote. “Amongst other factors, early factors occurring during the prenatal environment may result in mental health and behavioral problems in offspring by exerting programming influences on the brain of the fetus. Maternal prenatal tobacco exposure is one such adversity, with an estimated prevalence of 20% 30%, [that] is believed to increase risk [for conduct disorder] in offspring.”

The researchers aimed to determine whether maternal and paternal tobacco smoking during pregnancy affected risk for conduct disorder symptoms among offspring at age 14 years. They analyzed data of 1,747 mother-offspring and 1,711 father-offspring pairs who participated in a multi-generational cohort study in Western Australia in which conduct disorder symptoms were assessed via the DSM-oriented scale of the Child Behavior Checklist. Duko and colleagues used negative binomial regression to estimate rate ratios [RR] for conduct disorder symptoms. Further, they assessed environmental tobacco smoke exposure using paternal smoking during pregnancy as a proxy.

Results showed increased risk for conduct disorder symptoms among offspring of mothers who smoked tobacco during the first trimester (RR = 1.52; 95% CI, 1.24-1.87), third trimester (RR = 1.36; 95% CI, 1.09-1.69) and during both trimesters of pregnancy (RR = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.19-1.9), after the researchers adjusted for potential confounders. Although rates of conduct disorder symptoms among offspring increased with the level of exposure to maternal smoking during pregnancy, Duko and colleagues did not find sufficient statistical evidence for a link between paternal smoking during pregnancy and conduct disorder symptoms among offspring.

“Early screening and interventions assisting pregnant mothers to quit tobacco smoking, or avoid smoking take-up, have potential to contribute health benefits for both mothers and their offspring,” Duko and colleagues wrote.