Maternal smoking during pregnancy is linked to higher blood pressure and an increased risk of hypertension in children, according to a new study from the ECHO Cohort. The research was led by Lyndsey Shorey-Kendrick, PhD, of Oregon Health & Science University and Christine Ladd-Acosta, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University.
The study notes that high blood pressure in childhood can raise the likelihood of developing hypertension later in life, which is a significant risk factor for heart disease. While earlier studies have looked at prenatal smoking and its impact on childhood blood pressure, their findings have not always been consistent. Many relied mainly on self-reported data or focused only on systolic blood pressure—the measure taken when the heart beats—without considering diastolic blood pressure, which measures pressure when the heart rests.
To address these limitations, researchers analyzed data from 13,120 children born between 1999 and 2020 across 52 ECHO Cohort Study Sites in the United States and Puerto Rico. They gathered information about maternal smoking through self-reports, medical records, and urine samples collected during pregnancy. Blood pressure readings were taken from children aged 3 to 18 years old.
The results showed that children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy had higher blood pressure and a greater risk of hypertension compared to those whose mothers did not smoke. The study made a distinction between "any reported smoking," based on survey or medical record information provided by mothers, and "active smoking," confirmed by urine tests for cotinine—a marker indicating recent tobacco use. Active smoking during pregnancy was associated with even higher levels of blood pressure in children.
"This collaborative research, titled 'Association of Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy with Childhood Blood Pressure and Hypertension in the ECHO Cohort,' is published in Circulation."
