William Atkins
Tuesday, 10 February 2009 19:01
Science -
Health
Page 2 of 3
They studied data from 779 children born by in-vitro fertilization (IVF)--to mothers who had donated egg and embryo inserted into their womb (genetically unrelated mothers)--or born to their natural (genetically related) mothers.
The U.K. researchers found that prenatal smoking reduces the weight of babies, whether they were born of genetically related or genetically unrelated mothers.
Specifically, they state,
“In this sample, prenatal smoking reduces offspring birth weight in both unrelated and related offspring, consistent with effects arising through prenatal mechanisms independent of the relation between the maternal and offspring genomes.” [Abstract]
However, they found that when the mother smoked during pregnancy, only the genetically related mothers caused their offspring to be more likely to have antisocial behaviors.
They state,
“In contrast, the association between prenatal smoking and offspring antisocial behavior depended on inherited factors because association was only present in related mothers and offspring.” [Abstract]
This conclusion could likely help researchers in the future separate relevant environmental and genetic factors that affect the physical and mental health of children.
They conclude,
“The results demonstrate that this unusual prenatal cross-fostering design is feasible and informative for disentangling inherited and prenatal effects on human health and behavior. Disentangling these different effects is invaluable for pinpointing markers of prenatal adversity that have a causal effect on offspring outcomes." [Abstract]
More of their conclusions follow on page three, plus comments by lead author Dr. Anita Thapar.
