EFFECTS OF PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO TOBACCO-SMOKE ON DEVELOPMENTAL STABILITY IN CHILDREN

The effects of maternal and paternal smoking on fetal and neonatal den tal development were investigated in a sample of 199 school children. Fluctuating asymmetry was evaluated in the maxillary arcades of four g roups of children: those whose mothers had smoked, those whose fathers had smoked, those whose parents both had smoked, and finally, those w hose parents had not smoked. When the magnitudes of fluctuating asymme try in children exposed to parental tobacco smoke from one parent only were compared with the control group, no general univariate differenc es were found. Children exposed to smoke from both parents, however, s howed significantly elevated levels of asymmetry in four out of six co mparisons. In contrast, an analysis of variance failed to find signifi cant differences on the basis of sex, parity, smoking status, or their interactions. It is concluded that parental smoking does not result i n developmental destabilization of the fetus and neonate.