Effect of prenatal and postnatal exposure to tobacco in the development of acute bronchiolitis in the first two years of life

Abstract Introduction Environmental exposure to tobacco increases the risk of respiratory disease in infants. However, the impact of maternal smoking on the development of acute bronchiolitis has hardly been assessed. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of acute bronchiolitis and to analyse the effect of prenatal and postnatal maternal smoking on the development of this disease. Patients and methods A prospective, observational study was performed on healthy newborns from a third level hospital born between October 2015 and February 2016. Questionnaires were completed by the mothers at discharge from maternity and followed-up for two years. These collected information about prenatal and postnatal smoking, lifestyle, family and personal history, and the development of bronchiolitis. A bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. Results A total of 223 newborns were included, of whom 13.9% were exposed to tobacco smoking during gestation, 21.4% in the postnatal period, and 12.4% in both times. The incidence of bronchiolitis was 28.7% at one year of life, and 34.5% at two years. The multivariate analysis demonstrated that the prenatal and postnatal exposure to tobacco is an independent risk factor for the development of bronchiolitis (OR 4.38; 95% CI; 1.63–11.76), while prolonged breastfeeding is a protective factor (OR 0.13; 95% CI; 0.04–0.48). Other factors that were statistically significant were: atopic dermatitis (OR 2.91; 95% CI; 1.26–6.73), and gestational age (OR 1.42; 95% CI; 1.08–1.88). Conclusions Children exposed to prenatal and postnatal maternal smoking have a higher risk of suffering bronchiolitis. Reducing the smoking habit in women that intend to become pregnant must be a priority in preventive medicine.