Fathers’ Smoking Before Conception Increases Asthma Risk in Babies – Study

Munich (dpa/NAN) – A recent research by the University of Bergen in Norway has found that men who smoke increase the risk of their children been asthmatic even if they give up long before conception.

The study found that the earlier a man takes up smoking, the higher the risk that his offspring would suffer from non-allergic asthma.

Cecilie Svanes, Leader of the study group, said during the presentation of the research at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in Munich, that the smoking habits of more than 13,000 men and women were examined during the study.

She suggested that sperm are particularly susceptible to the influence of harmful substances in a certain stage of development.

Svanes said even at that, those who start smoking later could be causing harm to their future children, especially if they smoke over a long period.

“If a man smokes for more than 10 years before conception, the risk of his children having asthma increases by 50 per cent,’’ she said.

“Given these results, we can presume that exposure to any type of air pollution, from occupational exposures to chemical exposures, could also have an effect,” she added.

Svanes said the study found no link between the mothers’ smoking prior to conception and a child’s asthma.

She said the findings however indicated that only tobacco consumption during pregnancy could affect the unborn child.

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