title: Comparison of urinary and plasma cotinine levels during the three trimesters of pregnancy.
abstract: Assays of metabolised cotinine are considered to be an accurate measure of exposure to cigarette smoke among pregnant women. We investigated the association and differences between the cotinine levels in maternal urine and blood, and the umbilical cord blood of three tobacco exposure groups at different stages of pregnancy. A prospective study was conducted among 398 pregnant women undergoing prenatal care in different trimesters at two medical centres and one regional hospital in central Taiwan. All 398 subjects (including 25 smokers, 191 passive smokers and 182 non-smokers) remained in the study up to the time of delivery; 384 of them delivered singleton live births. Cotinine levels were assayed in the maternal plasma and urine of the mothers at each trimester and in the cord blood of the newborns. All specimens were measured using a sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography. Cotinine concentrations in plasma and urine showed a significant dose-dependent difference among the three groups (non-smoker, passive and active smoker) and a trend that increased with gestation among the pregnant women. Significant correlations between cotinine concentrations in plasma and urine among the pregnant women in each trimester were found. In addition, the level of cotinine in umbilical cord blood was significantly correlated with that in maternal blood at term (r = 0.89, P < 0.001). A pattern of elevated cotinine concentrations in the plasma and urine of pregnant women from the beginning to the end of pregnancy was found, and this correlated significantly with the cotinine levels in the umbilical cord blood.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Fang Y
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Hsien T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Hong D Isaac
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Chouh J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Jim S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Hsien-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kuo
mesh_terms: D003367:Cotinine / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011264:Pregnancy Trimesters / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000378:metabolism; D013624:Taiwan; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D003367:Cotinine