Do grandmaternal smoking patterns influence the etiology of childhood asthma?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Animal data suggest that tobacco smoke exposure of a mother when she is in utero influences DNA methylation patterns in her offspring and that there is an effect on the respiratory system, particularly airway responsiveness. The only study, to our knowledge, in humans suggests that there is a similar effect on asthma. The present study tests whether an association with respiratory problems can be confirmed in a large population study and aims to determine whether in utero exposure of the father has similar effects on his offspring.

Methods

Information from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children was used to compare the offspring of women and of men who had themselves been exposed to cigarette smoke in utero; separate analyses were performed for childre

SUBMITTER: Miller LL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4042509 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature