Abstract
We examined the association between early childhood exposure to maternal smoking and behavioral issues at 8 years old using a large nationwide population-based longitudinal survey in Japan that began in 2001. We included 46,737 children with information about maternal smoking taken from the 6-month survey. We used logistic regression analysis to examine the hypothesis. Early childhood exposure to maternal smoking increased the risk of behavioral problems related to attention and aggressive or disruptive behavior. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 1.37 (1.22–1.54) for inability to wait their turn during play and 1.40 (1.27–1.55) for destroying toys and, compared with children of nonsmoking mothers. Children of mothers who were heavy smokers were more likely to develop behavioral problems than others. Stopping early childhood exposure to maternal exposure can protect children’s neurodevelopment.
Acknowledgments
We appreciate the valuable support of Saori Irie and Yoko Oka in collecting the data and preparing for the manuscript. We also thank Melissa Leffler, MBA, from Edanz Group (https://en-author-services.edanzgroup.com/ac) for editing a draft of this manuscript.
Ethics
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee at Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Okayama University Hospital (No. K1506-073).
Conflicts of interests
The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.