Recent trends in the prevalence of and factors associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy in Japan.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the prevalence of maternal smoking during pregnancy and the correlations between maternal smoking and other maternal lifestyle or pregnancy factors between the years 1996-2001 and 2001-2006.


METHODS
The participants were pregnant women who responded to questionnaires while registering their pregnancies between 1 April 1996 and 31 March 2001 (Group 1), and between 1 April 2001 and 31 March 2006 (Group 2). The odds ratios were calculated with a 95% confidence interval for maternal smoking during early pregnancy by using a logistic multivariate regression analysis based on maternal factors.


RESULTS
In Group 1, 1051 pregnant women responded to the questionnaire administered at pregnancy registration, and 86 (8.2%) mothers reported smoking during early pregnancy. In Group 2, 1022 pregnant women responded, and 91 (8.9%) mothers reported smoking during early pregnancy. There was no significant difference between the groups. In both groups, partner smoking and skipping breakfast were significantly associated with maternal smoking. In Group 2, unintended pregnancy was significantly associated with maternal smoking.


CONCLUSIONS
To prevent maternal smoking during pregnancy, it is necessary to carefully monitor pregnant women who report partner smoking, skipping breakfast, and unintended pregnancy.
Suzuki
Kohta
K
Department of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.
Sato
Miri
M
Tanaka
Taichiro
T
Kondo
Naoki
N
Yamagata
Zentaro
Z
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000639:trends*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires