BIOMARKERS OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE TO TOBACCO SMOKE DURING PREGNANCY

摘要

Biomarkers of acute and chronic exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) were investigated in a group of non smoking mothers and their newborns. Cotinine content in maternal and neonatal urine and in cord serum was measured to assess exposure to ETS at the end of the pregnancy. Hair nicotine was measured in foetal hair and in maternal hair, accounting for the whole pregnancy. Cord serum cotinine, newborn urinary cotinine and maternal hair nicotine were associated with levels of maternal exposure to ETS. In contrast, nor maternal urinary cotinine, nor foetal hair nicotine could differentiate between exposure to ETS. In comparison with data from other European and American cohorts, biomarkers of acute and chronic exposure to ETS disclosed an underestimation of ETS exposure by pregnant women.