Exposure to tobacco smoke and infant crying.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association of excessive infant crying with maternal smoking during and after pregnancy, paternal smoking, and smoking by other people in the living environment of the infant.


METHODS
We collected data on infant crying and smoking in a Dutch national sample of 5845 infants aged 0-3 mo (response 62.8%). We defined excessive crying as crying over 3 h a day on more than 3 d of the preceding week.


RESULTS
The prevalence rate of excessive crying was 4.0% (95% CI 3.5 to 4.5%). Excessive crying occurred more frequently among infants of fathers smoking 15 + cigarettes/d (odds ratio (OR) 1.99, 95% CI 1.38 to 2.86) and of mothers smoking 10 + cigarettes/d during pregnancy (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.02 to 3.42). Infants whose parents were heavy current smokers or whose mothers had been so during pregnancy had a 69% higher prevalence of excessive crying than infants of non-smoking parents (rates: 6.3% and 3.7%, respectively; odds ratio 1.80; 95% CI 1.26 to 2.57).


CONCLUSIONS
Parents stopping smoking may prevent excessive infant crying.
Department of Health Sciences, Groningen University, Groningen, The Netherlands. s.a.reijneveld@med.rug.nl
Sijmen A
SA
Reijneveld
Caren I
CI
Lanting
Mathilde R
MR
Crone
Jacobus P
JP
Van Wouwe
D001942:Breast Feeding; D003085:Colic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D003448:Crying; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010290:Parents; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D015995:Prevalence; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution