High levels of prenatal smoking exposure affect sleep patterns in preter...( Westchester Ill. A study in the Dec...),Health

Westchester, Ill. A study in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal Sleep is the first to show that high levels of prenatal smoking exposure strongly modify sleep patterns in preterm neonates, which places infants at a higher risk for developmental difficulties that could persist throughout early and middle childhood.

Results indicate that preterm neonates born to heavy-smoking mothers who smoked more than 10 cigarettes per day displayed disrupted sleep structure and sleep continuity. From 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. they slept almost two hours less than controls who were born to non-smoking mothers, and their sleep was more fragmented. Compared with controls, neonates born to both heavy and low smokers displayed more body movements and, as a result, more disturbed sleep.

Frederic Telliez, principal investigator, and professor of neuroscience at the University of Picardie Jules Verne in Amiens, France said that sleep integrity is critical in the brain development of neonates. Disruption of sleep mechanisms by prenatal smoking exposure may predispose neonates to alterations in some physiological function (such as ventilation) and can result in long-term neurocognitive disorders.

According to the authors, abnormal sleep processes may alter compensatory responses to autonomic cardiovascular/respiratory challenge and increase the likelihood of life-threatening events later in life. Prenatal smoking exposure can lead to deficits in sustained attention and impulsivity in adolescence and a higher risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in childhood effects that could be partially mediated by sleep changes. Prenatal smoking exposure is also highly related to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

"The developing brain is known for its plasticity and ability to reorganize in response to the stimulation provided by the postnatal environment," said Telliez. "Consequently, it is possible that these neonates, if they are not expose
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