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Smoking during pregnancy and psychiatric disorders in preschoolers

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Abstract

The overall objective of this study was to determine whether smoking during pregnancy is related to psychiatric disorders in 4-year-olds while controlling for a wide range of potential confounding variables (i.e. parental anxiety, depression, personality disorders, drug abuse, and socio-economic characteristics). Parents of a community sample of 4-year-olds (N = 995) residing in the city of Trondheim, Norway were interviewed using the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment, which includes information on prenatal smoking. After adjusting for potential confounding variables using the propensity score, smoking during pregnancy was found to increase the odds for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) OR = 2.59 (CI 1.5–4.34, p < 0.001), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) OR = 2.69 (CI 1.84–3.91, p = 0.02) and comorbid OR = 2.55 (CI 1.24–5.23, p < 0.001). Prenatal smoking during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for symptoms of ADHD and ODD independently of each other, in 4-year-olds.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by grants 185519/V50, 185760/V50, and 190622/V50 from the Research Council of Norway and from grant 4396 from the Liaison Committee between the Central Norway RHA and Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NTNU Social Science, Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Lise Carol Ellis & Lars Wichstrøm

  2. Regional Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Turid Suzanne Berg-Nielsen & Stian Lydersen

  3. Department of Child Psychiatry, Central Regional Health Authority (RHA), St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway

    Lars Wichstrøm

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  1. Lise Carol Ellis
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  2. Turid Suzanne Berg-Nielsen
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Correspondence to Lise Carol Ellis.

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Ellis, L.C., Berg-Nielsen, T.S., Lydersen, S. et al. Smoking during pregnancy and psychiatric disorders in preschoolers. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 21, 635–644 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-012-0300-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-012-0300-y

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