Teen psychosis linked to smoking moms
Source: Agencies |
October 2, 2009, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
PREGNANT mothers who smoke put their children at greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms as teenagers, according to British scientists.
Researchers from four British universities studied 6,356 12-year-olds and interviewed them for psychotic-like symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions. About 19 percent had mothers who smoked during pregnancy.
Just over 11 percent, or 734 of the total group, had suspected or definite symptoms of psychosis, results of the study, released yesterday, showed.
Many previous studies have shown cigarettes can harm the fetuses of mothers who smoke while pregnant. The risks include causing babies to be born smaller and increasing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome or heart defects.
Stanley Zammit, a psychiatrist at Cardiff University's School of Medicine who led the study, said the more mothers smoked, the more likely their children were to have psychotic symptoms.
"We can estimate that about 20 percent of adolescents in this cohort would not have developed psychotic symptoms if their mothers had not smoked," he said.
It is estimated that between 15 and 20 percent of women in Britain smoke during pregnancy.
The researchers also found drinking during pregnancy was associated with increased psychotic symptoms, but only in children whose mothers had consumed more than 21 units of alcohol a week in early pregnancy.
Only a few mothers in the study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, said they smoked cannabis during pregnancy, and this was not found to have any significant link with psychotic symptoms.
Researchers from four British universities studied 6,356 12-year-olds and interviewed them for psychotic-like symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions. About 19 percent had mothers who smoked during pregnancy.
Just over 11 percent, or 734 of the total group, had suspected or definite symptoms of psychosis, results of the study, released yesterday, showed.
Many previous studies have shown cigarettes can harm the fetuses of mothers who smoke while pregnant. The risks include causing babies to be born smaller and increasing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome or heart defects.
Stanley Zammit, a psychiatrist at Cardiff University's School of Medicine who led the study, said the more mothers smoked, the more likely their children were to have psychotic symptoms.
"We can estimate that about 20 percent of adolescents in this cohort would not have developed psychotic symptoms if their mothers had not smoked," he said.
It is estimated that between 15 and 20 percent of women in Britain smoke during pregnancy.
The researchers also found drinking during pregnancy was associated with increased psychotic symptoms, but only in children whose mothers had consumed more than 21 units of alcohol a week in early pregnancy.
Only a few mothers in the study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, said they smoked cannabis during pregnancy, and this was not found to have any significant link with psychotic symptoms.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
