MOTHERS ACTIVE AND PASSIVE SMOKING DURING PREGNANCY AND RISK OF BRAIN-TUMORS IN CHILDREN

As part of a collaborative study of risk factors for childhood brain t umours, the effects of the mother's smoking and her potential for pass ive smoking exposure during the pregnancy were assessed in a case-cont rol study. Parents of 91 cases and 321 population controls from Northe rn Italy, matched for age, sex and residence, were interviewed about t heir lifetime smoking habits. Mother's smoking during pregnancy was as sociated with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.7 (95% CI 0.8, 3.8) of brain tum our in her child although this was not statistically significant. Amon g non-smoking mothers, the risk for light and heavy exposure to passiv e smoking was 1.7 (0.8, 3.6) and 2.2 (1.1, 4.5) respectively, and a st atistically significant dose-response relationship was found (p trend = 0.02). These results must be interpreted within the constraints of t he relatively small sample size and the likely misclassification produ ced by the difference between the potential for exposure to passive sm oke and the true exposure. However, they add another piece of informat ion to the growing body of evidence available about the health consequ ences both of active and of passive smoking and highlight the need for more information about this putative association. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss , Inc.