In utero exposure to tobacco smoke and subsequent reduced fertility in females.
BACKGROUND
Animal studies have shown that in utero exposure to chemicals in tobacco smoke reduces female fertility, but epidemiological findings have been inconsistent.


METHODS
We examined the association between in utero exposure to tobacco smoke and female fertility among women in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, enrolled from 1999 to 2007. Around the 17th week of pregnancy, participants reported how long they took to conceive (time to pregnancy), and whether their mother smoked while pregnant with the participant. This analysis included 48 319 planned pregnancies among women aged 15-44 years. We estimated fecundability odds ratios (FORs) using a discrete-time survival analysis, adjusting for age, education and adult tobacco smoking.


RESULTS
The adjusted FOR for in utero exposure to tobacco smoke among all subjects was 0.96 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.93, 0.98], among subjects reporting no adult tobacco smoking or passive exposure it was 0.96 (95% CI: 0.93, 0.99) and among subjects reporting adult tobacco smoking or passive exposure it was 0.95 (95% CI: 0.91, 0.99). We performed a probabilistic sensitivity analysis to estimate the effect of exposure and outcome misclassification on the results, and, as expected, the association became more pronounced after taking misclassification into account.


CONCLUSIONS
This large cohort study supports a small-to-modest association between in utero exposure to tobacco smoke and reduced fertility.
Ye
Xibiao
X
Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Human and Health Services, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.
Skjaerven
Rolv
R
Basso
Olga
O
Baird
Donna D
DD
Eggesbo
Merete
M
Cupul Uicab
Lea Aurora
LA
Haug
Kjell
K
Longnecker
Matthew P
MP
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000209:etiology; D009664:Norway; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution
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