The Interplay between Maternal Smoking and Genes in Offspring Birth Weight.

ABSTRACT: It is well-established that both the child's genetic endowments as well as maternal smoking during pregnancy impact offspring birth weight. In this paper we move beyond the nature versus nurture debate by investigating the interaction between genetic endowments and this critical prenatal environmental exposure - maternal smoking - in determining birth weight. We draw on longitudinal data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) study and replicate our results using data from the UK Biobank. Genetic endowments of the children are proxied with a polygenic score that is constructed based on the results of the most recent genome-wide association study of birth weight. We instrument the maternal decision to smoke during pregnancy with a genetic variant (rs1051730

SUBMITTER: Pereira RD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7654929 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature