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Effects of Prenatal Nicotine Exposure on Infant Language Development: A Cohort Follow Up Study

Maternal and Child Health Journal volume 21, pages 734–744 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Objectives To study the longitudinal effects of prenatal nicotine exposure on cognitive development, taking into consideration prenatal and postnatal second-hand smoke exposure. Methods A cohort follow up study was carried out. One hundred and fifty-eight pregnant women and their infants were followed during pregnancy and infant development (at 6, 12, 30 months). In each trimester of pregnancy and during postnatal follow-up, a survey was administered to obtain sociodemographic data and the details of maternal and close familial toxic habits. Obstetric and neonatal data were obtained from hospital medical records. To assess cognitive development, the Bayley Scales of Infant Development were applied at 6, 12 and 30 months; to assess language development, the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories were applied at 12 months and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test at 30 months. Results After adjustment for confounding variables, the results showed that infants prenatally exposed to cigarette smoke recorded poor cognitive development scores. Language development was most consistently affected, specifically those aspects related to auditory function (vocalizations, sound discrimination, word imitation, prelinguistic vocalizations, and word and sentence comprehension). Conclusions for Practice Irrespective of prenatal, perinatal and sociodemographic data (including infant postnatal nicotine exposure), prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke and second-hand smoke affect infant cognitive development, especially language abilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Research Centre for Behavioral Assessment (CRAMC), Facultat de Ciències de l’Educació i Psicologia, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Edifici Ventura i Gasol, Ctra. Valls S/N, 43007, Tarragona, Spain

    Carmen Hernández-Martínez, Núria Voltas Moreso & Josefa Canals Sans

  2. Nutrition and Public Health Unit, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Pere Virgili Institut (IISPV), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, C/Sant Llorenç, 21, 43201, Reus, Spain

    Blanca Ribot Serra & Victoria Arija Val

  3. Pediatrics Department, Sant Joan de Reus University Hospital, Pere i virgili Institut (IISPV), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. del Dr. Josep Laporte, 43201, Reus, Spain

    Joaquín Escribano Macías

Authors
  1. Carmen Hernández-Martínez
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  2. Núria Voltas Moreso
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  3. Blanca Ribot Serra
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  4. Victoria Arija Val
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  5. Joaquín Escribano Macías
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  6. Josefa Canals Sans
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Correspondence to Josefa Canals Sans.

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Hernández-Martínez, C., Voltas Moreso, N., Ribot Serra, B. et al. Effects of Prenatal Nicotine Exposure on Infant Language Development: A Cohort Follow Up Study. Matern Child Health J 21, 734–744 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-016-2158-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-016-2158-y

Keywords

  • Maternal smoking during pregnancy
  • Secondhand smoke exposure
  • Infant development
  • Cognitive development
  • Language development