Charles Teves
- More than 1600 couples were monitored.
- Infants were found to have alterations in their immune system genes.
- Smoking fathers who consumed at least 20 cigarettes a day tend to have children that would get Asthma.
Children face a variety of negative effects from secondhand smoking. When cigarette smoke is present, the developing lungs of children receive a higher concentration of inhaled toxins than adult lungs. It is because a child’s breathing rate is faster than that of adults.
A Taiwanese study found that fathers who are active smokers during pregnancy are more likely to have children who will be suffering from asthma.
There were also multiple studies on pregnant smoking mothers tend to have babies that weigh less than the usual. In that case, it can lead to detrimental or deadly for infants. These babies also have a higher chance of having developmental issues, learning disabilities and cerebral palsy.
Now there is a new study done on fathers who smoked during pregnancy.
It is important to note that asthma is a condition that has no known cures. It is very irritating since it causes the victim to have narrow airways which makes breathing harder.
The study composed of more than 1600 couples who had a baby coming their way. Their lifestyles were monitored. The infants in this study were found to have alterations in their immune system genes, which are called epigenetic modifications. The babies get an increased risk of developing asthma.
1,629 children from birth to 18 months old and 756 of these until the age of six. They were regularly assessed and given a DNA analysis. 23% of the fathers and only 3% of the mothers were smokers.
Dr. Wu Chih-chiang says that, “We found that prenatal exposure to paternal tobacco smoking is associated with increased methylation of certain immune genes, which alters how the genetic code is read. This smoking associated DNA methylation is significantly retained from birth to six years of age, and correlates with development of childhood asthma.”
Fathers who smoked at least 20 cigarettes a day tend to have children suffering from asthma by the age of six.
“Children with prenatal parental tobacco smoking exposure corresponding to more than 20 cigarettes per day had a significantly higher risk of developing asthma than those with fewer than 20 cigarettes per day.”
The more a father smokes, the methylation levels of LMO2, IL10 and GSTM1 get higher and higher, which gives the infant a higher chance of getting asthma.
“It remains to be determined whether the DNA methylation associated with parental tobacco smoking originated from tobacco smoke exposure in utero, from preconception changes to the father’s sperm, or if there is an alternative explanation.”
