Paternal smoking is associated with a decreased prevalence of type 1 diabetes mellitus among offspring in two national British birth cohort studies (NCDS and BCS70)
-
Audré M. Toschke
Abstract
Aims: An association between paternal age and type 1 diabetes (IDDM) among their offspring was recently reported as well as transgenerational responses in humans. This paper aims to assess the association of markers for prenatal exposures with IDDM.
Methods: We analysed data from two birth cohorts in Great Britain on 5214 cohort members from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) and 6068 members of the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study (BCS70) with full information on IDDM and explanatory variables using multivariate logistic regression.
Results: IDDM prevalence was 0.7% (95% CI 0.5–1.0%; n=38) in the NCDS and 0.4% (95% CI 0.3–0.6%; n=27) in the BCS70 cohort. Paternal age was not associated with IDDM possibly due to lack of sample power. Unexpectedly, a lowered prevalence of IDDM was observed among offspring of smoking fathers in both cohorts, with a combined odds ratio of 0.44 (95% CI 0.25–0.75). This association could not be explained by maternal smoking prior to, during or after pregnancy, number of siblings, parental social class, maternal and paternal age, or cohort. Maternal smoking in pregnancy did not alter the IDDM prevalence among offspring.
Conclusions: This unexpected finding may be explained by germ-line mutations or other mechanisms associated with paternal smoking. This phenomenon should be investigated and these results should not be used as a justification for smoking. Paternal exposures may be important in determining IDDM risk.
References
1 Cardwell CR, DJ Carson, CC Patterson: Parental age at delivery, birth order, birth weight and gestational age are associated with the risk of childhood type 1 diabetes: a UK regional retrospective cohort study. Diabet Med22 (2005) 200Search in Google Scholar
2 Cardwell CR, MD Shields, DJ Carson, CC Patterson: A meta-analysis of the association between childhood type 1 diabetes and atopic disease. Diabetes Care26 (2003) 2568Search in Google Scholar
3 Clopper CJ, ES Pearson: The use of confidence or fiducial limits illustrated in the case of the binomial. Biometrika26 (1934) 404Search in Google Scholar
4 Crow JF: The origins, patterns and implications of human spontaneous mutation. Nat Rev Genet1 (2000) 40Search in Google Scholar
5 Ekinysmith C, JM Bynner, SM Montgomery, P Shepherd: An Integrated approach to the design and analysis of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) and the National Child Development Study (NCDS). London: University of London, 1992Search in Google Scholar
6 Ferri E, ed.: Life at 33. The fifth follow up of the National Child Development Study. London: National Children's Bureau, 1993Search in Google Scholar
7 Glaser RL, W Jiang, SA Boyadjiev, AK Tran, AA Zachary, L Van Maldergem, et al.: Paternal origin of FGFR2 mutations in sporadic cases of Crouzon syndrome and Pfeiffer syndrome. Am J Hum Genet66 (2000) 768Search in Google Scholar
8 Harjutsalo V, T Podar, J Tuomilehto: Cumulative incidence of type 1 diabetes in 10,168 siblings of Finnish young-onset type 1 diabetic patients. Diabetes54 (2005) 563Search in Google Scholar
9 Jarvis MJ: Why people smoke. Br Med J328 (2004) 27710.1136/bmj.328.7434.277Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
10 Klesges RC, M Debon, JW Ray: Are self-reports of smoking rate biased? Evidence from the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. J Clin Epidemiol48 (1995) 1225Search in Google Scholar
11 Larsson ML, A Magnuson, SM Montgomery: Parental smoking and allergic sensitisation in offspring defined by skin prick testing. Pediatr Allergy Immunol16 (2005) 449Search in Google Scholar
12 Meerwaldt R, RJ Odink, R Landaeta, F Aarts, B Brunekreef, J Gerritsen, et al.: A lower prevalence of atopy symptoms in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Clin Exp Allergy32 (2002) 254Search in Google Scholar
13 Montgomery SM, A Ekbom: Smoking during pregnancy and diabetes mellitus in a British longitudinal birth cohort. Br Med J324 (2002) 26Search in Google Scholar
14 Patrick DL, A Cheadle, DC Thompson, P Diehr, T Koepsell, S Kinne: The validity of self-reported smoking: a review and meta-analysis. Am J Public Health84 (1994) 1086Search in Google Scholar
15 Pembrey ME, LO Bygren, G Kaati, S Edvinsson, K North-stone, M Sjostrom, J Golding: Sex-specific, male-line transgenerational responses in humans. Eur J Hum Genet14 (2006) 159Search in Google Scholar
16 The-EURODIAB-Substudy-2-Study-Group: Decreased prevalence of atopic diseases in children with diabetes. J Pediatr 137 (2000) 470Search in Google Scholar
17 Valdes AM, T Andrew, JP Gardner, M Kimura, E Oelsner, J Gardner, et al.: Obesity, cigarette smoking, and telomere length in women. Lancet366 (2005) 662Search in Google Scholar
18 Venners SA, X Wang, C Chen, L Wang, D Chen, W Guang, et al.: Paternal smoking and pregnancy loss: a prospective study using a biomarker of pregnancy. Am J Epidemiol159 (2004) 993Search in Google Scholar
©2007 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
Articles in the same Issue
- Cervical surgery and preterm birth
- How useful is 3D and 4D ultrasound in perinatal medicine?
- The combined effect of maternal smoking and obesity on the risk of preeclampsia
- Slow change in body mass index during early triplet pregnancy is associated with decreased birth weight
- Examining the relationship between positive mid-gestational fetal fibronectin assays and histological evidence of acute placental inflammation
- Paternal smoking is associated with a decreased prevalence of type 1 diabetes mellitus among offspring in two national British birth cohort studies (NCDS and BCS70)
- Three-dimensional ultrasound power Doppler assessment of the cervix: comparison between nulliparas and multiparas
- Gender- and parity-specific reference charts for fetal size in low risk singleton pregnancies at the onset of the third trimester
- Near term twin pregnancy: clinical relevance of weight discordance at birth
- Intracerebellar hemorrhage in premature infants: sonographic detection and outcome
- Determining the least time required for measuring energy expenditure in premature neonates
- Neither maternal nor fetal mutation (E474Q) in the α-subunit of the trifunctional protein is frequent in pregnancies complicated by HELLP syndrome
- Long-term subcutaneous morphine administration after surgery in newborns
- Superior sagittal sinus thrombosis: a rare but serious complication of hypernatremic dehydration in newborns
- Congress Calendar
- Roster of Perinatal Societies
Articles in the same Issue
- Cervical surgery and preterm birth
- How useful is 3D and 4D ultrasound in perinatal medicine?
- The combined effect of maternal smoking and obesity on the risk of preeclampsia
- Slow change in body mass index during early triplet pregnancy is associated with decreased birth weight
- Examining the relationship between positive mid-gestational fetal fibronectin assays and histological evidence of acute placental inflammation
- Paternal smoking is associated with a decreased prevalence of type 1 diabetes mellitus among offspring in two national British birth cohort studies (NCDS and BCS70)
- Three-dimensional ultrasound power Doppler assessment of the cervix: comparison between nulliparas and multiparas
- Gender- and parity-specific reference charts for fetal size in low risk singleton pregnancies at the onset of the third trimester
- Near term twin pregnancy: clinical relevance of weight discordance at birth
- Intracerebellar hemorrhage in premature infants: sonographic detection and outcome
- Determining the least time required for measuring energy expenditure in premature neonates
- Neither maternal nor fetal mutation (E474Q) in the α-subunit of the trifunctional protein is frequent in pregnancies complicated by HELLP syndrome
- Long-term subcutaneous morphine administration after surgery in newborns
- Superior sagittal sinus thrombosis: a rare but serious complication of hypernatremic dehydration in newborns
- Congress Calendar
- Roster of Perinatal Societies
