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ACHRI Research Linking Moms’ Smoking to Babies’ Heart Defects Published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Publication Date: Tuesday, April 08, 2008

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. (April 8, 2008) – Research linking a mother’s smoking habit to her newborn’s heart defects conducted by the Arkansas Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI) has been published in Pediatrics: The Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers at ACHRI and included more than 3,000 infants with heart defects identified by the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS), as well as more than 3,900 infants who do not have heart defects. The NBDPS is one of the largest case-control studies ever done on the causes of birth defects. Mothers of all the babies who participated in the study were asked several questions, including whether they smoked during the month before conception through the end of the first trimester. Women who indicated that they had smoked were more likely to give birth to infants with septal heart defects than women who said they had not.

The scientists did not notice an increase in the risk of having a baby with congenital heart defects among those women who said they were exposed to second-hand smoke.

The manuscript documenting their results, titled Maternal Smoking and Congenital Heart Defects, is published in this month’s edition of Pediatrics. It is available online at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/121/4/e810 .

The study was supported, in part, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, the major research component of the Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act of 2000.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital is the only pediatric medical center in Arkansas and one of the largest in the United States serving children from birth to age 21. The campus spans 28 city blocks and houses 316 beds, a staff of approximately 500 physicians, 80 residents in pediatrics and pediatric specialties and more than 4,000 employees. The private, nonprofit healthcare facility boasts an internationally renowned reputation for medical breakthroughs and intensive treatments, unique surgical procedures and forward-thinking medical research - all dedicated to fulfilling our mission of enhancing, sustaining and restoring children's health and development. ACH recently ranked No. 76 on FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For®. For more information, visit www.archildrens.org.

ACHRI provides a research environment on the ACH campus to meet the needs of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences faculty. Research scientists at ACHRI conduct clinical, basic science, and health services research for the purpose of treating illnesses, preventing disease and improving the health of children everywhere.

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