Title: Nearly One out of Four Pregnant Women Smoke

While pregnancy may be considered an effective motivator for smoking cessation, results of a new study by researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University indicate that pregnant U.S. women commonly smoke, placing themselves and their unborn children at risk for health and developmental complications. The research also finds a significant association between cigarette use, nicotine dependence, and the presence of mental disorders among pregnant women.

The data show that nearly 22% of these women smoked cigarettes and more than 10% were nicotine dependent. The results also indicate that approximately 30% of pregnant women who used cigarettes had a mental disorder, with personality disorders, major depressive disorder, and specific phobia among the most common psychological ailments. Mental disorders were even more common among pregnant women with nicotine dependence, affecting more than 57%.

The study included 1,516 pregnant women at least 18 years old who took part in the 2001–2002 National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions, a nationally representative survey of more than 43,000 U.S. adults administered by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.


Source: PACT News

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