Biomaterial Database

Birth weight and perinatal mortality: the effect of maternal smoking. 1993

A J Wilcox

Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709.

Infants born to mothers who smoke are a few hundred grams smaller, on average, than the infants of nonsmokers. This effect on fetal growth is regarded as evidence of the reproductive toxicity of cigarette smoking. In this paper, data from nearly 260,000 births in the state of Missouri (1980-1984) were analyzed using a method based on adjustment to relative birth weight. Two additional effects of smoking are demonstrated with this analysis; i.e., smokers are at higher risk of delivering very small preterm infants, and their infants have higher perinatal mortality at every relative birth weight. The latter is not apparent on an absolute birth weight scale and thus is not generally recognized. A supplementary analysis of births at high altitude is carried out to suggest that effects on fetal growth (whether from smoking or other factors) can occur independently of effects on mortality.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007226	Infant Mortality	Postnatal deaths from BIRTH to 365 days after birth in a given population. Postneonatal mortality represents deaths between 28 days and 365 days after birth (as defined by National Center for Health Statistics). Neonatal mortality represents deaths from birth to 27 days after birth.	Neonatal Mortality,Mortality, Infant,Postneonatal Mortality,Infant Mortalities,Mortalities, Infant,Mortalities, Neonatal,Mortalities, Postneonatal,Mortality, Neonatal,Mortality, Postneonatal,Neonatal Mortalities,Postneonatal Mortalities
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D007234	Infant, Premature	A human infant born before 37 weeks of GESTATION.	Neonatal Prematurity,Premature Infants,Preterm Infants,Infant, Preterm,Infants, Premature,Infants, Preterm,Premature Infant,Prematurity, Neonatal,Preterm Infant
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011297	Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects	The consequences of exposing the FETUS in utero to certain factors, such as NUTRITION PHYSIOLOGICAL PHENOMENA; PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS; DRUGS; RADIATION; and other physical or chemical factors. These consequences are observed later in the offspring after BIRTH.	Delayed Effects, Prenatal Exposure,Late Effects, Prenatal Exposure
D001724	Birth Weight	The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual at BIRTH. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.	Birthweight,Birth Weights,Birthweights,Weight, Birth,Weights, Birth
D003120	Colorado	State bounded on the north by Wyoming and Nebraska, on the east by Kansas and Nebraska, on the south by New Mexico and Oklahoma, and on the west by Utah.
D005260	Female		Females
D005314	Embryonic and Fetal Development	Morphological and physiological development of EMBRYOS or FETUSES.	Embryo and Fetal Development,Prenatal Programming,Programming, Prenatal
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man