Passive maternal smoking and birthweight in a south Indian population.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effects of passive maternal smoking on birthweight.

DESIGN

Cohort of consecutive singleton live births.

SETTING

Teaching hospital in South India.

SUBJECTS: 994 infants and their mothers.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Birthweight.

RESULTS

All the women were themselves non-smokers; 520 (52%) were passive smokers while the remainder were not exposed to tobacco smoke. Infants born to passive smokers were on the average 55 g lighter than those born to non-smokers. Passive smoking was associated with a decrease in birthweight of 63 g (95% CI 12-114 g) even after adjusting for other variables known to affect birthweight.