Smoking during pregnancy and offspring externalizing problems: An exploration of genetic and environmental confounds
Open accessAbstract
Previous studies have documented that smoking during pregnancy (SDP) is associated with offspring externalizing problems, even when measured covariates were used to control for possible confounds. However, the association may be because of nonmeasured environmental and genetic factors that increase risk for offspring externalizing problems. The current project used the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and their children, ages 4–10 years, to explore the relations between SDP and offspring conduct problems (CPs), oppositional defiant problems (ODPs), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity problems (ADHPs) using methodological and statistical controls for confounds. When offspring were compared to their own siblings who differed in their exposure to prenatal nicotine, there was no effect of SDP on offspring CP and ODP. This suggests that SDP does not have a causal effect on offspring CP and ODP. There was a small association between SDP and ADHP, consistent with a causal effect of SDP, but the magnitude of the association was greatly reduced by methodological and statistical controls. Genetically informed analyses suggest that unmeasured environmental variables influencing both SDP and offspring externalizing behaviors account for the previously observed associations. That is, the current analyses imply that important unidentified environmental factors account for the association between SDP and offspring externalizing problems, not teratogenic effects of SDP.
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Traditional studies of prenatal tobacco exposure and behavioral outcomes have a major limitation: they cannot fully control for confounding, especially family environment and genetic factors.
“a major limitation of traditional approaches to studies of prenatal tobacco exposure and behavioral outcomes has been the inability to fully control for potential confounding factors, particularly family environment and genetic factors.”
From Developmental toxicity of nicotine: A transdisciplinary synthesis and implications for emerging tobacco products (2017) · cites this paper as [150]
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- Authors
- D'Onofrio, B. M., Hulle, C. A. V., Waldman, I. D., Rodgers, J. L., Harden, K. P., Rathouz, P. J., & Lahey, B. B.
- Affiliations
- Indiana University Bloomington (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Emory University (US)
- University of Oklahoma (US)
- University of Virginia (US)
- Corresponding author
- D'Onofrio, Brian M.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Development and Psychopathology
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2008
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 139-164
- ISSN
- 0954-5794 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-2198
- PMC
- PMC3737574
- OpenAlex
- W2118423646
- Cited by
- 267
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 29
- FWCI
- 21.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Development and Psychopathology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH070025)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- maternal smoking, smoking during pregnancy, conduct problems, sibling comparison, genetic confounding, environmental confounding, causal inference, teratogenicity, National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aggression, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Child, Preschool, Diseases in Twins, Female, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Internal-External Control, Juvenile Delinquency, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Risk Factors, Smoking, Social Environment, United States, Models, Statistical, Causality, Cluster Analysis, Conduct Disorder, Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Siblings
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