Skip to main content

Tobacco Use in Pregnancy Linked to Neurocognitive Deficits in Offspring

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Feb 14, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 13, 2024 -- Maternal tobacco use during pregnancy (MTDP) is associated with child neurocognitive deficits at ages 9 to 12 years, according to a study published online Feb. 13 in JAMA Network Open.

Troy B. Puga, from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, and colleagues examined whether MTDP is associated with child neurocognitive development in a cohort study involving children aged 9 to 10 years at wave 1 (October 2016 to October 2018) and 11 to 12 years at wave 2 (August 2018 to January 2021) in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study from 21 U.S. sites.

The researchers found that 1,607 children of the 11,448 in wave 1 had MTDP. Those with versus without MTDP had lower scores on the oral reading recognition, picture sequence memory, and picture vocabulary tests and on the crystallized cognition composite score at wave 1. At wave 2, these differential patterns persisted. Children with versus without MTDP had smaller cortical areas in the precentral, inferior parietal, and entorhinal regions at wave 1, shown on structural magnetic resonance imaging; they also had lower cortical volumes in the precentral, inferior parietal, entorhinal, and parahippocampal regions. At wave 2, distinct cortical volume patterns continued to be significant. Differential regions of interest were exhibited in the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes; no significant distinctions were seen in the occipital lobe and insula cortex.

"These results suggest that children have poorer language processing skills and episodic memory associated with MTDP," the authors write. "Intervention strategies involving expanded prenatal and perinatal health availability and tobacco control policies are needed."

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Smoking + RA With Obstructive Pattern Shows Less Spirometry Decline

TUESDAY, June 25, 2024 -- Patients who have smoked with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and an obstructive pattern may be a unique phenotype, according to a study published online June...

Varenicline, Nicotine-Containing E-Cigarettes Help in Quitting Smoking

WEDNESDAY, June 19, 2024 -- Varenicline and nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes (ECs) are both effective in helping individuals in quitting smoking conventional cigarettes...

Teens, Young Adults Modify Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems

MONDAY, June 17, 2024 -- Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are aware of and engage in modifications of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), according to a study...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.