Direct and indirect effects of smoking during pregnancy on child development: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study
Abstract Maternal smoking during pregnancy is known to have an adverse impact on child development. This study aimed to elucidate whether maternal smoking during pregnancy has a direct adverse effect on the child development or whether it exerts an indirect effect through birth weight reduction or c...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02684-7 |
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| author | Nozomi Tatsuta Kunihiko Nakai Makiko Sekiyama Yu Taniguchi Miyuki Iwai-Shimada Mai Takagi Yayoi Kobayashi Tomohiko Isobe Shoji F. Nakayama Shin Yamazaki The Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group |
| author_facet | Nozomi Tatsuta Kunihiko Nakai Makiko Sekiyama Yu Taniguchi Miyuki Iwai-Shimada Mai Takagi Yayoi Kobayashi Tomohiko Isobe Shoji F. Nakayama Shin Yamazaki The Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group |
| author_sort | Nozomi Tatsuta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Maternal smoking during pregnancy is known to have an adverse impact on child development. This study aimed to elucidate whether maternal smoking during pregnancy has a direct adverse effect on the child development or whether it exerts an indirect effect through birth weight reduction or cadmium exposure. Mothers and infants enrolled in the Japan Environment and Children’s Study were evaluated. A total of 4794 mother–child pairs were included in the analysis. They were classified into four groups according to their smoking status during pregnancy (non-smokers [Q1, n = 2966], ex-smokers who quit before pregnancy [Q2, n = 575], ex-smokers who quit during pregnancy [Q3, n = 505] and smokers [Q4, n = 168)]). Children’s development was assessed at 2 and 4 years of age using a standardized tool, the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development. Among male children, Q1 exhibited higher scores in all domains except posture-motor than Q4. Female children did not show lower scores in Q4 relative to the other groups. Path analysis revealed that maternal smoking increased cadmium exposure, a direct negative effect of maternal smoking was observed. The findings of this study confirm that maternal smoking during pregnancy has a direct negative impact on the development of children, particularly males. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2fa8e5f2e1a64cc484e32fc522388b00 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-2fa8e5f2e1a64cc484e32fc522388b002025-08-20T02:33:24ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-05-011511910.1038/s41598-025-02684-7Direct and indirect effects of smoking during pregnancy on child development: The Japan Environment and Children’s StudyNozomi Tatsuta0Kunihiko Nakai1Makiko Sekiyama2Yu Taniguchi3Miyuki Iwai-Shimada4Mai Takagi5Yayoi Kobayashi6Tomohiko Isobe7Shoji F. Nakayama8Shin Yamazaki9The Japan Environment and Children’s Study GroupHealth and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental StudiesSchool of Sport and Health Science, Tokai Gakuen UniversityHealth and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental StudiesHealth and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental StudiesHealth and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental StudiesHealth and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental StudiesHealth and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental StudiesHealth and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental StudiesHealth and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental StudiesHealth and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental StudiesAbstract Maternal smoking during pregnancy is known to have an adverse impact on child development. This study aimed to elucidate whether maternal smoking during pregnancy has a direct adverse effect on the child development or whether it exerts an indirect effect through birth weight reduction or cadmium exposure. Mothers and infants enrolled in the Japan Environment and Children’s Study were evaluated. A total of 4794 mother–child pairs were included in the analysis. They were classified into four groups according to their smoking status during pregnancy (non-smokers [Q1, n = 2966], ex-smokers who quit before pregnancy [Q2, n = 575], ex-smokers who quit during pregnancy [Q3, n = 505] and smokers [Q4, n = 168)]). Children’s development was assessed at 2 and 4 years of age using a standardized tool, the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development. Among male children, Q1 exhibited higher scores in all domains except posture-motor than Q4. Female children did not show lower scores in Q4 relative to the other groups. Path analysis revealed that maternal smoking increased cadmium exposure, a direct negative effect of maternal smoking was observed. The findings of this study confirm that maternal smoking during pregnancy has a direct negative impact on the development of children, particularly males.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02684-7Smoking during pregnancyChild developmentDirect effectIndirect effectBirth weightCadmium |
| spellingShingle | Nozomi Tatsuta Kunihiko Nakai Makiko Sekiyama Yu Taniguchi Miyuki Iwai-Shimada Mai Takagi Yayoi Kobayashi Tomohiko Isobe Shoji F. Nakayama Shin Yamazaki The Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group Direct and indirect effects of smoking during pregnancy on child development: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study Scientific Reports Smoking during pregnancy Child development Direct effect Indirect effect Birth weight Cadmium |
| title | Direct and indirect effects of smoking during pregnancy on child development: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study |
| title_full | Direct and indirect effects of smoking during pregnancy on child development: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study |
| title_fullStr | Direct and indirect effects of smoking during pregnancy on child development: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Direct and indirect effects of smoking during pregnancy on child development: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study |
| title_short | Direct and indirect effects of smoking during pregnancy on child development: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study |
| title_sort | direct and indirect effects of smoking during pregnancy on child development the japan environment and children s study |
| topic | Smoking during pregnancy Child development Direct effect Indirect effect Birth weight Cadmium |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02684-7 |
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