Smoking During The First Trimester Of Pregnancy Linked To Oral Clefts

Smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy is clearly linked with an increased risk of cleft lip in newborns.

Genes that play a role in detoxification of cigarette smoke do not appear to be involved.

This is shown in a new study published in the journal Epidemiology.

Oral clefts are one of the most common birth defects. Closure of the lip occurs about 5 weeks into pregnancy, followed by closure of the palate at week 9.

If this does not happen, a cleft lip and palate are the result, requiring surgery.

The researchers wanted to see if smoking or exposure to passive smoking play a role in these defects and whether genes influence the oral cleft risk through the way toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke are processed.

The study is based on an extensive Norwegian case-control study on oral clefts with collaborating researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, University of Bergen, Rikshospital, Haukeland University Hospital and the National Institutes of Health in USA.

Between 1996 and 2001, 676 babies born with oral clefts were referred for cleft surgery, and of these, 573 took part in the study. 763 babies born during the same period in Norway were randomly selected as controls.

Read more at News-Medical

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