Abstract
BACKGROUND: Exposure to parental tobacco smoking during fetal life and childhood is associated with adverse cardiovascular health outcomes. It is not known whether these adverse parental lifestyle exposures are also associated with changes in the structure and function of the carotid arteries in children aged 10 years. METHODS: In a population-based prospective cohort study among 4,639 healthy children, we examined the associations of fetal exposure to maternal (no, first trimester only, continued), paternal (no, yes), and combined parental tobacco smoking (nonsmoking parents, mother only, father only, both parents smoked) with carotid intima-media thickness and distensibility at 10 years. We also assessed the associations of exposure to any parental tobacco smoking at ages 6 and 10 years with these outcomes. RESULTS: Compared with no exposure, fetal exposure to continued maternal smoking was not associated with carotid intima-media thickness (-0.04 standard deviation score (SDS); 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.13, 0.05); and distensibility (0 SDS, 95% CI: -0.09, 0.09) at age 10 years. Fetal exposure to two smoking parents was also not associated with carotid intima-media thickness (-0.07 SDS, 95% CI: -0.16, 0.02) and distensibility (0 SDS, 95% CI: -0.09, 0.10) at this age. Exposure to any parental smoking during childhood also was not associated with these outcomes at age 10 years. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to parental tobacco smoking during fetal life and childhood was not associated with markers of arterial health in children aged 10 years. Prevention strategies aiming at minimizing smoke exposure later in life are still relevant regarding arterial health.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 867-874 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | American Journal of Hypertension |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2022 |
Bibliographical note
ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe Generation R Study is conducted by the Erasmus Medical Center in close collaboration with the School of Law and Faculty of Social Sciences of the Erasmus University Rotterdam; the Municipal Health Service Rotterdam area, Rotterdam; the Rotterdam Homecare Foundation, Rotterdam; and the Stichting Trombosedienst & Artsenlaboratorium Rijnmond (STAR-MDC), Rotterdam. We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of children and
parents, general practitioners, hospitals, midwives, and pharmacies in Rotterdam. The study protocol was approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of the Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam. Written informed consent was obtained for all participants.
The general design of the Generation R Study is made possible by financial support from the Erasmus MC, University
Medical Centre Rotterdam, Erasmus University Rotterdam,the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and
Development (ZonMw), the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and the Ministry of Health,
Welfare and Sport and the Ministry of Youth and Families. V.W.V.J. received funding from the European Research
Council (ERC-2014-CoG-648916). R.G. received funding of the Dutch Heart Foundation (grant number 2017T013), the
Dutch Diabetes Foundation (grant number 2017.81.002), the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and
Development (NWO, ZonMW, grant number 543003109). The project was supported by funding from the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreements No 733206 (LifeCycle) and 874739
(LongITools), and from the European Joint ProgrammingInitiative “A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life” (JPI HDHL,
NutriPROGRAM project, the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) no.529051022
and PREcisE project, the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) no.529051023,
and EndObesity, the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) no. 529051026.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.