Risk of Gestational Diabetes Due to Maternal and Partner Smoking

Abstract

Pregnant women are among the most vulnerable to environmental exposure to tobacco smoke (EET); which has been linked to problems in the mothers’ health; one of the most frequent is gestational diabetes (GD). For this reason, there are specific interventions and prevention strategies designed to reduce this exposure risk. However, currently, they are mostly aimed only at aiding the pregnant women with smoking cessation during pregnancy and do not assess or address the risk from passive exposure due to partner smoking. The aim of this work is to study the exposure to EET of pregnant women considering active and passive smoking and to evaluate its effect on the development of GD. This is an observational case-control study within a retrospective cohort of pregnant women. Information on smoking habits was obtained from both personal interviews and recorded medical history. In total, 16.2% of mothers and 28.3% of partners declared having been active smokers during pregnancy; 36.5% of the women presented EET during pregnancy when both active and passive smoking were considered. After adjustments, the association with the EET and GD of the mother was (aOR 1.10 95% CI: 0.64–1.92); for the EET of the partner, it was (aOR 1.66 95% CI: 1.01–2.77); for both partners, it was (aOR 1.82 95% CI: 1.15–2.89), adjusted by the mother’s age and body mass index. There is a lack of education regarding the effects of passive exposure to tobacco smoke. It is essential that pregnant women and their partners are educated on the risks of active and passive smoking; this could improve the effectiveness of other GD prevention strategies.

Risk Factors of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Among Women Attending an Antenatal Care Clinic in Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Case-Control Study

“…Interestingly, this study also found that the chances of GDM increase by five times if the fathers had diabetes and pointed to the fact that the number of pregnancies increases the chances of GDM and miscarriage [ 30 ]. Several other studies have identified smoking as a known factor that increases the chances of GDM, but we did not find any association of GDM with smoking in our study [ 31 , 32 ]. This may be attributed to the large number of study participants enrolled in these studies.…”

Maternal Gestational Diabetes Is Associated with High Risk of Childhood Overweight and Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study in Pre-School Children Aged 2–5 Years

“…Smokers also showed a 54% higher probability of developing GDM than non-smokers. and although earlier meta-analyses showed no association between smoking and GDM [ 63 ], more recent studies have revealed a relationship with smoking [ 64 , 65 ] and even passive smoking [ 66 ].…”

Detailed Review on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus with Emphasis on Pathophysiology, Epidemiology, Related Risk Factors, and its Subsequent Conversion to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

“…Among these factors, diet and physical activity also play an indispensable role, the obvious consumption of high fat and sugary food leads to increased blood glucose. Smoking and the drinking status of the parents before and during pregnancy could result in a higher risk of GDM [26] .Polycystic ovary syndrome is an endocrine disorder in females, and insulin resistance has been observed in 50% of women with PCOS, they have a fourfold risk of T2DM than normoglycemic women and are at a higher risk of GDM. In 2012, Marshall JC., [27] associated PCOS with hyperinsulinemia, it has become clear hyperandrogenism and impaired glucose tolerance are correlated.…”