Second-hand smoke risky in pregnancy

PITTSBURGH, Jul 26, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Researchers say a re-examination of data from earlier studies suggests exposure to second-hand smoke during pregnancy can be risky.

The researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health say such exposure is as detrimental to a developing fetus as is primary exposure through maternal smoking.

In a study published in the online journal BMC Pediatrics, Stephen Grant, associate professor of environmental and occupational health, said both active maternal smoking and secondary maternal exposure result in similarly increased rates of genetic mutation that are basically indistinguishable.

Grant, whose primary area of study is genotoxicity and the mechanisms of DNA repair, added. "These kinds of mutations are likely to have lifelong repercussions for the exposed fetus, affecting survival, birth weight and susceptibility to disease, including cancer."

The finding conflicts with conclusions reached in three previous studies that Grant authored. Those studies largely discounted the effects of second-hand smoke.