Smoking in Pregnancy Affects Grandchildren's Growth

A new study has found that the effects of smoking during one's pregnancy can span generations. According to the study, smoking during pregnancy can affect the growth of a woman's future grandkids. British scientists discovered that with non-smoking mothers, if a paternal grandmother smoked during pregnancy, her granddaughters tended to be taller and both her granddaughters and grandsons tended to have greater bone mass and lean (muscle) mass.

If a maternal grandmother smoked during the period of pregnancy, her grandsons became heavier than expected during adolescence, with increased lean mass, grip strength and cardiovascular fitness.

When both the mother and the maternal grandmother had smoked, girls had reduced height and weight compared with girls whose mothers, but not grandmothers, smoked.

Researchers say, these findings need to be taken into account in future studies of the effects of maternal smoking on child growth and development. "If replicated, such studies could be a useful model for the molecular analysis of human transgenerational responses," they added.

The study was published in the American Journal of Human Biology.

Source-Medindia