The Association Between Cigarette Smoking Cessation and Gestational Weight Gain

Giovannetti, Katya The Association Between Cigarette Smoking Cessation and Gestational Weight Gain. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.

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Abstract

Women with excess gestational weight gain (GWG) have an increased risk of negative reproductive outcomes and major knowledge gaps remain in our understanding of specific causes of excess GWG. Maternal cigarette smoking is not only one of the most important modifiable risk factors for a variety of pregnancy outcomes, but smoking cessation is also a possible predictor for excess GWG. This study’s objective was to examine for the first time the association between smoking cessation at different time points during pregnancy and excess GWG among 124,807 women in Pennsylvania, while taking racial/ethnic differences into account. The data are from Pennsylvania (PA) 2008 birth records. Results from our logistic regression analyses show that after adjusting for covariates, all quitters were at a higher risk of excess GWG as compared to non-smokers. Women who quit prior to pregnancy were 56% more likely to gain excessive weight as compared to non-smokers (OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.46, 1.66), whereas women who quit later on during pregnancy had a higher risk for excess GWG compared to non-smokers (OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.23, 1.70 for 1st trimester quitters; OR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.23, 1.69 for 2nd trimester quitters). We found an interaction between race/ethnicity and smoking status in predicting excess GWG (χ2(8) = 16.5, p = 0.03) suggesting that the association between smoking cessation and excess GWG differs by race/ethnicity. These findings are of great public health importance since they emphasize the need for individualized attention to smoking habits from health care professionals so that pregnant women can successfully gain weight within their respective recommended range.

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