Forty papers on the association between environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)exposure of the mother and low birthweight of offspring were examined from the point of view of experimental design, criteria for ETS exposure, sample size, methods of statistical analysis, individual confounders considered, specific endpoints, and outcome. An approximately equal number of studies employed either the prospective or retrospective design, with very few using the case-control design. The vast majority of studies used a surrogate for ETS exposure (mainly paternal smoking), without verification of such exposure with a biochemical marker. The sample sizes of the studies ranged from under 100 subjects to almost 25,000 subjects. Most studies employed regression analysis. A considerable variation from study to study was noted in the treatment of potential confounding variables and most studies considered relatively few of these. Most of the individual confounding variables were considered in a relatively small proportion (one third or less) of the studies. The majority(almost two thirds) of the studies failed to demonstrate a statistically significant association between ETS exposure of the pregnant woman and low birthweight. This general lack of consistency of association could reflect absence of an adverse effect of ETS or méthodologie difficulties such as misclassification error, type II error, recall bias, or inadequate adjustment for potential confounders.

Keywords:
Patemal/household smoking, Birthweight, Confounders, Environmental tobacco smoke
This content is only available via PDF.
1996
Copyright / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.
You do not currently have access to this content.