Smoking cigarettes throughout pregnancy is one of the single most important avoidable causes of adverse pregnancy outcomes and it represents the first major environmental risk of the unborn If compared with other risk factors in the perinatal period, exposure to tobacco smoke is considered to be amongst the most harmful and it is associated with high rates of long and short term morbidity and mortality for mother and child A variety of adverse pregnancy outcomes are linked with cigarette consumption before and during pregnancy Maternal prenatal cigarette smoke disturbs the equilibrium among the oxidant and antioxidant system, has negative impact on the genetic and cellular level of both mother and fetus and causes a large quantity of diseases in the unborn child These smoking-induced damages for the unborn offspring manifest themselves at various times in life and for most only a very limited range of causal treatment exists Education, support and assistance are of high importance to decrease maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, as there are few other avoidable factors which influence a child's health that profoundly throughout its life It is imperative that smoking control should be seen as a public health priority

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/12/6485/pdf

Smoking and pregnancy--a review on the first major environmental risk factor of the unborn.

Introduction
A general detrimental effect of smoking during pregnancy on the health of newborn children is well-documented, but the detailed mechanisms remain elusive.

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Metabolomics reveals effects of maternal smoking on endogenous metabolites from lipid metabolism in cord blood of newborns

A microfluidic immunoassay is successfully developed for rapid analysis of cotinine saliva samples, which is a metabolite of nicotine and is widely used as a biomarker to evaluate the smoking status and exposure to tobacco smoke. The core microfluidic chip is fabricated by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with standard soft lithography. Each chip is capable of eight parallel analyses of cotinine samples. The analyses can be completed within 40 min with 12 μl sample consumption. The linear detection range is 1 ~ 250 ng/ml and the minimum detectable concentration is 1 ng/ml respectively. The correlation coefficient of the calibration curve established from standard samples is 0.9989. The immunoassay was also validated by real saliva samples, and the results showed good reproducibility and accuracy. All the results were confirmed with traditional ELISA measurements. The result from microfluidic chip device and ELISA kits showed good correspondence, and the correlation coefficients are higher than 0.99. Compared with traditional technique, this microfluidic immunoassay is more economic, rapid, simple and sensitive, perfect for on-site cotinine measurements as well as for the evaluation of the exposure to tobacco smoking. Moreover, this immunoassay has potential to be applied in the analysis of other biomarkers in human saliva samples.

Microfluidic immunoassay for rapid detection of cotinine in saliva.

One of the most severe detrimental environmental factors acting during pregnancy is foetal smoke exposure. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of maternal, paternal and parental smoking during pregnancy on relative leg length in 7- to 10-year-old children. The research conducted in the years 2001–2002 included 978 term-born children, 348 boys and 630 girls, at the age of 7–10 years. Information concerning the birth weight of a child was obtained from the health records of the women. Information about the mother's and the father's smoking habits during pregnancy and about the mothers’ education level was obtained from a questionnaire. The influence of parental smoking on relative leg length, controlled for age, sex, birth weight and the mother's education, as a proxy measure of socioeconomic status, and controlled for an interaction between sex and birth weight, was assessed by an analysis of covariance, where relative leg length was the dependent variable, smoking and sex were the independent variables, and birth weight as well as the mother's education were the covariates. Three separate analyses were run for the three models of smoking habits during pregnancy: the mother's smoking, the father's smoking and both parents’ smoking. Only both parents’ smoking showed a significant effect on relative leg length of offspring. It is probable that foetal hypoxia caused by carbon monoxide contained in smoke decelerated the growth of the long bones of foetuses.

Parental smoking during pregnancy shortens offspring's legs

Medically assisted procreation significantly contributes to an increase in twin pregnancies. One of the major factors contributing to more twin births is the use of fertility treatments. Twin pregnancy is not without a risk for fetal organ development and the health outcome of new-borns, children, and adults. Multiple pregnancies are associated with an increased risk of developmental complications, such as perinatal mortality, premature births, and low birth weight. Oxidative stress is involved in pregnancy disorders such as abortion, intrauterine growth retardation, and prenatal mortality. The link between oxidative stress and prenatal development, poorly perceived in the medical community, is a major problem in human reproductive medicine and health outcomes. The sex-based considerations and analyses are also, often neglected in biomedical research. In addition, fetal sexual dimorphism in antioxidant pathways following intrauterine exposure to environmental pollutants has not been explored. This is an important area of research because sexually dimorphic antioxidant adaptive responses to early life exposure-induced oxidative stress may have long-term effects on offspring health outcome and increase the risk of non-communicable diseases in men and women. This concept is useful, since it may open the avenue to develop antenatal antioxidant therapeutic strategies to developmental disorders and complications related to multiple pregnancies, and in association with acute or chronic environmental exposure. This article reviews the status of research, supporting data, possible pathogenic mechanisms, and future perspectives in the proposed area. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 108:351-364, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Multiple exposures to environmental pollutants and oxidative stress: Is there a sex specific risk of developmental complications for fetuses?

Smoking during pregnancy has been shown to be detrimental for the developing fetus. The effects of active and passive maternal smoking on umbilical cord serum levels of vitamin A and vitamin E were examined. Secondary measures included anthropometric parameters in the newborn. Maternal and umbilical cord serum levels of vitamins A and E were measured at delivery. The mothers were assigned to three groups: non-smoking (n 12); passive smoking (n 13); active smoking (n 18). Based on multivariate linear regressions, active smoking during pregnancy was associated with increased umbilical cord serum levels of vitamin A and vitamin E. While enhanced circulating levels of vitamin A in cord blood were also found in non-smoking mothers exposed to tobacco smoke during pregnancy, those of vitamin E were not influenced. Further, an inverse association between smoking behaviour during pregnancy and birth length was observed, with shortest length in active smokers followed by passive smoking mothers. Active and passive maternal smoking behaviour during pregnancy increases the fetal demand for antioxidant compounds in order to counteract the oxidative burden by cigarette smoke. Against this background, the observed increase in umbilical cord serum levels of vitamins A and E may subserve antioxidative processes in response to tobacco smoke-induced oxidative stress. This would reduce the availability of vitamins A and E for fetal maturation, which is critical inasmuch as both compounds are indispensable for the developing fetus. However, due to the cross-sectional nature of our observation, this line of reasoning definitely requires validation in cause-effect experiments in the future.

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The influence of active and passive smoking during pregnancy on umbilical cord blood levels of vitamins A and E and neonatal anthropometric indices

The paper presents an analysis of the sorption properties of humic acids and their sodium salts isolated from high-moor peat of the Arkhangelsk region with respect to Cd2+ ions at various pH values. Using adsorption isotherms, the volumetric capacity of the studied preparations was calculated. Langmuir and Freindlich mathematical models were used to quantify the sorption capacity of preparations. Calculation of mathematical models of Langmuir and Freindlich sorption, as well as statistical data processing was carried out using Microsoft Office for Windows, Excel, 2016 software. their sodium salts. An estimate of the rate of binding of cadmium ions by various sorbents is given, and the pH at which the sorption capacity of humic acids and their sodium salts is maximum is determined. The structural and functional features of humic acids are presented, proving their high binding capacity and strength of Cd2+ binding, as well as relatively high selectivity. Based on the results obtained, it is assumed that it is possible to develop and use preparations based on humic acids as sorbents.

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Elena A. Ayvazova

Papers

The influence of active and passive smoking during pregnancy on umbilical cord blood levels of vitamins A and E and neonatal anthropometric indices

SORPTION ABILITY OF SAMPLES OF HUMIC ACIDS AND THEIR SODIUM SALTS WITH RESPECT TO Cd2+ IONS