Smoking during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of having children with behavioral problems which may occur as early as age 3, according to a report by British scientists and doctors.
The study, published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health “was held from the analysis of over 14,000 mothers and their children born between 2000 and 2001 in the UK.
Mothers are ranked among the “moderate smoker” and “heavy smokers”, as the number of cigarettes consumed per day, and were asked to rate the behavior of their children of 3 years from a psychological questionnaire which is used for disorders such as hyperactivity and attention deficit.
Behavior problems were assessed based on the answers to questions about the nature of the child, the frequency with which they fought, indiscipline with regard to adults and harassment of other children the same age.
The same was done with respect to hyperactivity and problems with attention and concentration, for which we took into account the perceptions of mothers on their degree of agitation and/or quiet.
After taking into account other factors that could influence the results-such as age of the mother during pregnancy, educational level, socioeconomic status and family stability, it was concluded that children of women who smoked during pregnancy had much to most frequently cited problems.
The children of “heavy smokers” were twice as likely to have behavioral problems and, for those of “moderate smokers (those consuming less than ten cigarettes a day), increased by 80 percent of cases of attention deficit hyperactivity.
The study authors stressed the serious damage that the consumption of snuff can cause the development structure and function in fetal brain and showed that, for unknown reasons, children are more susceptible to “chemical assault” on nicotine than girls.
This would explain, they said, why behavior problems occur more often in men than in women.
