Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and neural tube defects (NTDs) in offspring.
Methods
We retrieved published studies on the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and NTDs risk in offspring. Meta-analysis was applied to calculate the overall odds ratios (ORs) and their 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). The publication bias was assessed by the Egger’s regression asymmetry test and Begg’s rank correlation test.
Results
The overall effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on NTDs was 1.03 (OR = 1.03, 95 % CI = 0.80–1.33). When subgroup analysis was conducted by geographic regions, the overall effects were 1.39 (OR = 1.39, 95 % CI = 1.18–1.64), 0.88 (OR = 0.88, 95 % CI = 0.66–1.17) in Europe and USA; when subgroup analysis was conducted by NTDs types, the overall effect was 1.55 (OR = 1.55, 95 % CI = 1.06–2.26) for spina bifida.
Conclusions
Women who smoked during pregnancy had mildly elevated risk of having infants with NTDs.
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Acknowledgments
The study was sponsored by a grant of the effectiveness evaluation of hospital-based comprehensive birth defects intervention methods, Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2006BA105A01).
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The authors report no conflicts of interest.
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Wang, M., Wang, ZP., Gong, R. et al. Maternal smoking during pregnancy and neural tube defects in offspring: a meta-analysis. Childs Nerv Syst 30, 83–89 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-013-2194-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-013-2194-5