Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2010 Mar;137(3):601-8.
doi: 10.1378/chest.09-0942. Epub 2009 Oct 9.

The effect of active and passive household cigarette smoke exposure on pregnant women with asthma

Collaborators, Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The effect of active and passive household cigarette smoke exposure on pregnant women with asthma

Roger B Newman et al. Chest. 2010 Mar.

Abstract

Background: The article was designed to estimate the effect of active and passive household cigarette smoke exposure on asthma severity and obstetric and neonatal outcomes in pregnant women with asthma.

Methods: We used a secondary observational analysis of pregnant women with mild and moderate-severe asthma enrolled in a prospective observational cohort study of asthma in pregnancy and a randomized clinical trial (RCT) comparing inhaled beclomethasone and oral theophylline. A baseline questionnaire detailing smoking history and passive household smoke exposure was given to each patient. Smoking status was confirmed in the RCT using cotinine levels. Data on asthma severity and obstetric and neonatal outcomes were collected and analyzed with respect to self-reported tobacco smoke exposure. Kruskal-Wallis and Pearson chi(2) statistics were used to test for significance.

Results: A total of 2,210 women were enrolled: 1,812 in the observational study and 398 in the RCT. Four hundred and eight (18%) women reported current active smoking. Of the nonsmokers, 790 (36%) women reported passive household smoke exposure. Active smoking was associated with more total symptomatic days (P < .001) and nights of sleep disturbance (P < .001). Among the newborns of active smokers, there was a greater risk of small for gestational age < 10th percentile (P < .001), and a lower mean birth weight (P < .001). There were no differences in symptom exacerbation or outcome between nonsmokers with and without passive household cigarette smoke exposure.

Conclusions: Among pregnant women with asthma, active but not passive smoking is associated with increased asthma symptoms and fetal growth abnormalities.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Enrollment of pregnant women with asthma from the observational cohort trial and the prospective RCT and their respective exposures to cigarette smoke. Data regarding ETS exposure were unavailable for one patient (*). ETS = environmental tobacco smoke; RCT = randomized clinical trial.

References

    1. Alexander S, Dodds L, Armson BA. Perinatal outcomes in women with asthma during pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 1998;92(3):435–440. - PubMed
    1. Kwon HL, Belanger K, Bracken MB. Asthma prevalence among pregnant and childbearing-aged women in the United States: estimates from national health surveys. Ann Epidemiol. 2003;13(5):317–324. - PubMed
    1. National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel Report 2: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma . NHLBI. Washington, DC: NIH Publication No. 97-4051. April 1997.
    1. Perlow JH, Montgomery D, Morgan MA, Towers CV, Porto M. Severity of asthma and perinatal outcome. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1992;167(4 Pt 1):963–967. - PubMed
    1. Demissie K, Breckenridge MB, Rhoads GG. Infant and maternal outcomes in the pregnancies of asthmatic women. Am J Respir Crit Care Net. 1998;158(4):1091–1095. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms