Smoking During Pregnancy Increases Risk of Childhood ADHD
By Leslie Davis
It’s no secret that smoking during pregnancy can have harmful effects on your unborn child. Women who smoke are likely to give birth to children who suffer from developmental problems, damaged nervous systems and an addiction to nicotine that will require withdrawal and chemical detox in the first hours of their life.
A new study has discovered yet one more negative side effect of smoking during pregnancy: an increased risk for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The study, published in the Nov. 23 edition of the online journal Pediatrics, found that children whose mothers smoke during pregnancy are more than twice as likely to develop ADHD as other children. That risk increased eight-fold when children were exposed to both cigarette smoke and lead, which can be found in such things as old water pipes, peeling paint and toys.
The study’s researchers determined that nearly 40 percent of children ages 8 to 15 who have ADHD developed the disorder as a result of prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke. They also concluded that about 25 percent of ADHD cases are caused by lead exposure. The researchers did not find a strong link between exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke during childhood and ADHD.
Childhood ADHD Can Lead to Smoking
Even if you took precautions during your pregnancy and temporarily quit smoking or stopped altogether, your child may still have been diagnosed with ADHD. It is unclear what exactly causes ADHD, though genes, environment, diet and brain injuries may all play a role.
Studies have shown that children diagnosed with ADHD are more likely to become smokers as adults. A 2005 study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry indicated that each symptom of ADHD reported in childhood led to an increased risk of smoking during late adolescence or early adulthood. In an article on ConsumerAffairs.com, the study’s lead author, Scott H. Kollins, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Duke University, explained the correlation:
Specifically, we found a strong relationship between the age of onset of smoking and the number of reported symptoms of ADHD in childhood. Smokers who reported the most inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms as children started smoking, on average, a year earlier than those reporting the fewest numbers of symptoms. This extra year of smoking is very important from a public health perspective.
If your child is diagnosed with ADHD, take precautions to decrease the chances of them taking up smoking. Educate them about the health risks of tobacco and nicotine addiction, and help them find healthy outlets to manage their disorder.
ADHD Increases Difficulty of Quitting
In addition to being the reason that some people begin smoking, ADHD may also be the reason why many people have a tough time quitting. A 2008 study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research found that people with ADHD have lower quit rates than people who don’t have the disorder.
It is believed that nicotine provides a way for people with ADHD to self-medicate because nicotine can improve attentiveness and performance deficits in people with the disorder. Smoking may also release dopamine in the brain, which has a positive effect on attention and impulse control. All of these factors make nicotine cessation difficult for people with ADHD.
Smoking Prevention and Cessation
If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, you should be aware of the risks of smoking. Talk to your doctor about what can happen to your baby if you cannot quit smoking during pregnancy. If you are planning to get pregnant, leave yourself time to go through nicotine withdrawal so that you do not have cravings once you are pregnant.
If you discover that you are pregnant, stop smoking immediately so that no further damage is done to your baby. Nicotine patches and gum have been shown to be safe in pregnant women, so ask your doctor if those are possibilities for you. Joining a support group will also be important to successfully quitting while pregnant and minimizing the risk of nicotine addiction in your baby.
When it comes to your children, especially if they have ADHD, inform them of the risks of smoking early on. Let them know the dangers of nicotine and nicotine addiction. If you discover that your children are experimenting with smoking, deal with it immediately and address the behavior before it becomes a life-long addiction.
Remember that the likelihood of your kids smoking increases if one or both of their parents smoke, so set a good example by not smoking around your kids (or at all).