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Maternal smoking during pregnancy and neural tube defects in offspring: a meta-analysis

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and neural tube defects (NTDs) in offspring.

Methods

We retrieved published studies on the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and NTDs risk in offspring. Meta-analysis was applied to calculate the overall odds ratios (ORs) and their 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). The publication bias was assessed by the Egger’s regression asymmetry test and Begg’s rank correlation test.

Results

The overall effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on NTDs was 1.03 (OR = 1.03, 95 % CI = 0.80–1.33). When subgroup analysis was conducted by geographic regions, the overall effects were 1.39 (OR = 1.39, 95 % CI = 1.18–1.64), 0.88 (OR = 0.88, 95 % CI = 0.66–1.17) in Europe and USA; when subgroup analysis was conducted by NTDs types, the overall effect was 1.55 (OR = 1.55, 95 % CI = 1.06–2.26) for spina bifida.

Conclusions

Women who smoked during pregnancy had mildly elevated risk of having infants with NTDs.

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Acknowledgments

The study was sponsored by a grant of the effectiveness evaluation of hospital-based comprehensive birth defects intervention methods, Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2006BA105A01).

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Shandong University, 44 Wenhua Xilu Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China

    Meng Wang, Zhi-Ping Wang & Zhong-Tang Zhao

  2. Institute of Population Research, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing, Haidian District, China

    Rui Gong

Authors
  1. Meng Wang
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  2. Zhi-Ping Wang
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  3. Rui Gong
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  4. Zhong-Tang Zhao
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Correspondence to Zhong-Tang Zhao.

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Wang, M., Wang, ZP., Gong, R. et al. Maternal smoking during pregnancy and neural tube defects in offspring: a meta-analysis. Childs Nerv Syst 30, 83–89 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-013-2194-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-013-2194-5

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