2023-11-29 08:59:28
by Giulia Veronesi
Exposing an expectant mother to secondhand smoke 4-7 days a week increases the risk of gestational hypertension by 18%
Is it true that passive smoking can raise blood pressure, especially during pregnancy?
Giulia Veronesi, director of the Thoracic Robotic Surgery Program, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, responds
Hypertension in pregnancy is one of the main causes of maternal and neonatal mortality globally. In addition to influencing the immediate prognosis of both the mother and the child, it can also have effects on the development of some diseases of the unborn child and subsequent generations because it causes epigenetic modifications, i.e. alterations in the function of some genes which lead (over the years) DNA damage. Women who have had a history of low birth weight and preterm birth, for example, have an increased risk of hypertension in pregnancy. It appears that the mechanisms underlying the increased risk of hypertension in individuals with low birth weight include a decrease in the number of nephrons (functioning units of the kidneys), increased vascular resistance, and changes in the density and diameter of arterioles.
There is a direct link
Several studies have indicated an association between exposure to passive smoking and increased risk of hypertension in the general population and smoking in particular (passive and active) appears to be a significant risk factor for gestational hypertension. In recent decades, more and more cases of high blood pressure during pregnancy have been recorded, both due to advanced maternal age in many Western countries and an increase in the prevalence of overweight and obese women. Recently, Japanese research analyzed the data of over 100 thousand children and their parents, identifying a direct link between passive smoking and hypertension during pregnancy: in particular, from the results, it emerges that an exposure of the future mother for 4-7 days to week increases the risk of gestational hypertension by 18% (depending on various factors it can reach up to 38%).
Collective responsibility
A confirmation that underlines the importance of collective responsibility to protect pregnant women and unborn children. In this context, the World Health Organization and the Tobacco Control Convention have repeatedly reiterated that everyone’s commitment is essential: we need laws and executive/administrative provisions, in addition to the concrete actions of each of us, in the workplace , on public transport, in public places, indoors and beyond. In an aging society with a declining birth rate, protecting the health of pregnant women and fetuses/infants is of the utmost importance and should not be the responsibility of women alone, but an issue that concerns society as a whole.
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November 29, 2023 (modified November 29, 2023 | 07:59)
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