Tobacco Smoke Exposure During Pregnancy Increases Infant's Risk of Eczema

Smoke exposure during the third trimester may contribute to the development of allergic skin conditions like eczema after birth, researchers reported at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. 

“A recent study demonstrated that environmental tobacco smoke exposure was significantly associated with an increased rate of eczema in the offspring, whereas another study found no association. We wanted to see whether a particular trimester might be associated with an increased occurrence of eczema in the offspring,” said Miwa Shinohara, MD, PhD.

Researchers used questionnaires to gather family history of allergic diseases for 1,436 infants between the ages of 2 months and 18 months.  Researchers also collected data on the mothers’ tobacco smoke exposure during and after pregnancy, and the development of eczema after birth. 

Infants who were exposed to tobacco smoke during the third trimester had a significantly elevated rate of eczema compared to those with no smoke exposure.  Infants with exposure during the first and second trimester showed no significant differences in incidence to that of infants with no exposure. 

“Tobacco smoke exposure during the third trimester seems to affect the development of the immune system in the offspring, which in turn facilitates development of eczema after birth,” concluded Kenji Matsumoto, MD, PhD. “This also raises questions of whether or not tobacco smoke exposure may affect the innate immune responses of the skin.”

-Michael Potts