(12/27, Walsh) reported, "Maternal smoking during pregnancy can lead
to arterial damage detectable in the offspring at five years, yet
three-quarters of parents of young children continued to smoke after
participating in smoking cessation programs," according to a study
published in the January issue of Pediatrics. The researchers
"analyzed data from a prospective population-based study that
included 259 children" and found that "children whose mothers smoked
while pregnant had carotid artery intima-media thickness 18.8 µm thicker
(95% CI 1.1 to 36.5, P=0.04) than those with no prenatal smoke
exposure" and "also had arterial distensibility that was 15% (95% CI
−0.3 to −0.02, P=0.02) lower." An accompanying editorial observed that "more work needs to be done to elucidate the relationship between fetal exposure and later life
complications." WebMD (12/26, Rubin) also reported this story.
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