title: Paternal smoking and pregnancy loss: a prospective study using a biomarker of pregnancy.
abstract: Results of studies on paternal smoking and spontaneous abortions have been inconsistent. The authors examined the effect of paternal smoking on the risk of pregnancy loss in a prospective cohort of 526 newly married, nonsmoking, female textile workers in China between 1996 and 1998. Upon stopping contraception, subjects provided daily urine specimens and records of vaginal bleeding for up to 1 year or until clinical pregnancy. Daily urinary human chorionic gonadotropin was assayed to detect conception and early pregnancy losses, and pregnancies were followed to detect clinical spontaneous abortions. Subjects were grouped by the number of cigarettes that husbands reported smoking daily: nonsmokers (group 1, n = 216), fewer than 20 cigarettes (group 2, n = 239), and 20 or more cigarettes (group 3, n = 71). Compared with that for group 1, the adjusted odds ratio of early pregnancy loss of any conception for group 2 was 1.04 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.67, 1.63) and for group 3 was 1.81 (95% CI: 1.00, 3.29). The adjusted hazard ratio of conception for group 2 was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.70, 1.18) and for group 3 was 0.96 (95% CI: 0.66, 1.39), while the adjusted hazard ratio of clinical pregnancy for group 2 was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.72, 1.20) and for group 3 was 0.78 (95% CI: 0.55, 1.12). The authors conclude that heavy paternal smoking increased the risk of early pregnancy loss through maternal and/or paternal exposure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Venners
authors.forename: Xiaobin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Changzhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Dafang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Wenwei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guang
authors.forename: Aiqun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Bill
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lasley
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Overstreet
authors.forename: Allen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wilcox
authors.forename: Xiping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000652:urine*; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000652:urine*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005220:Fathers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution