What makes us different? Read our Declaration of Journalistic Independence Home | About Natural News | Contact Us | Write for Natural News
Search our 25,000 free articles and special reports

Maternal smoking linked with severe tic disorder (press release)

Wednesday, August 30, 2006 by: NaturalNews | Key concepts: smoking, oxygen and natural health

Want stories like this e-mailed to you? Click here for free email alerts

Email this article to a friend Printable Version

Personal Health Solutions from NaturalNews

Replace your toxic laundry detergent with natural laundry soap that grows on trees! (NEW source!)
This top "underground" natural health newsletter brings you amazing new natural cures each month. Save $100!
How to treat and cure over 100 health conditions using little-known health secrets
How to halt type-2 diabetes with nutritional therapy - over 50% cure rate proven in studies
End cravings with this guide to natural appetite suppressants (Download edition available.)
How to blend nutritious meals in minutes with Adams' Superfood smoothie recipes (Delicious!)
Breakthrough LED lighting technology prevents global warming, saves 90% on your lighting bill

Browse more health books...
Shop our eco-friendly products...

All sales help fund naturalnews operations.
Women who smoke during pregnancy appear to have a very strong risk of having a child with severe symptoms of Tourette's syndrome and the risk of having obsessive-compulsive disorder is also increased in these children.

Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder that develops in childhood or adolescence in which patients have involuntary tics involving sudden movements or vocalizations that are rapidly repeated. The symptoms usually occur several times a day, every day or intermittently and are usually mild, but can be severe.

The condition is believed be to associated with many genetic and environmental factors, Dr. Carol A. Mathews and her associates note. While few studies have examined the role of environmental factors, there are suggestions that incidents before or just after birth, as well as the mother's prenatal habits, effect the development of the disorder, its severity, and the risk of having another neurologic condition.

Mathews, from the University of California in San Francisco, and her team hypothesized that reductions in oxygen in the womb, a known effect of smoking, could increase the risk of developing Tourette's syndrome in those with a genetic susceptibility.

To test this theory, the research team evaluated members of three groups of people with the syndrome, which included 53 individuals from Costa Rica, 99 individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, and 28 who had a sibling with the syndrome. The subjects' ages ranged from 3 to 59 years, but 60 percent were younger than 14 when they were interviewed.

The investigators report in the American Journal of Psychiatry that the average tic severity score was 38.6 out of a possible 50.

The presence of obsessive-compulsive disorder and self-injurious behavior was strongly associated with tic severity. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder was also associated with tics, but the association was not as strong as were the other two disorders.

More than half of the subjects reported at least one adverse event that occurred before or shortly after birth, but these were generally similar to that in the general population. Parental factors also did not seem to affect risk.

However, after accounting for the effect of patient group, gender and family history, maternal smoking was significantly associated with total tick and vocal tic severity. In fact, statistical calculations showed that maternal smoking accounted for 42 percent of the variance in tic severity.

Maternal smoking was also associated with an eight-fold increased risk of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The researchers suggest that the association between smoking and tic severity and obsessive-compulsive disorder is evidence that chronic oxygen deprivation during fetal development increases the risk. However, they cannot rule out the possibility that maternal smoking is an indicator of another factor associated with the syndrome that has yet to be uncovered, such as socioeconomic status or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in one or both of the parents.

###

Related Articles

Why we should bar smokers from taxpayer-funded health care coverage

Clearing the air – links between smoking and osteoporosis strengthened (press release)

Doctors, American Medical Association hawked cigarettes as healthy for consumers

Anti-smoking ads cleverly boost smoking among teens

Is the American Cancer Society more interested in cancer profit than cancer prevention?

Additional Resources:

smoking
oxygen
natural health

Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com

Email this article to a friend

Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us

Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/020230.html

Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.

Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE

Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber!
  • Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more.
  • Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.
Your Email Address:
Free Subscription Code:
Enter the numbers you see:
100% free of charge. Unsubscribe anytime.
Absolutely no spam. We respect your email privacy.

Recommended Special Report:

Seven Words that can Change the World
by Joseph R. Simonetta

Read this special report now...

"Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com

More on NaturalNews.com:

Streaming Health Ranger Videos
CounterThink Cartoons
FREE Special Reports
Podcasts

Also Posted Today

Coccinia Indica Herb Lowers Blood Sugar Levels by 20 Percent in Type 2 Diabetics

Large Scale Study Finds Vitamin B6 Deficiency Common in the U.S.

Therapeutic Healing Vest for Children With Autism, ADHD, Anxiety

Registered Dietitian Jill Fleming Gives Advice on Staying Healthy

Cholesterol Disease Mongering Reaches New Low with Statin Drug Push For 8-Year-Olds

Beat Disease With Juice Feasting!

NEW 6-CD audio set reveals amazing new protocol for reversing cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and more. Click to learn more.

Own Health Ranger Report Podcasts on Audio CD

Own the first 8 Health Ranger Report audio programs on 6 CDs. Covers weight loss, ADHD, vaccinations, processed meats, bone health and more. Click to learn more.

Featured Videos

Short clip on Aspartame
A short clip on aspartame from the documentary All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...

Exclusive video on Aspartame
The dangers of aspartame! Exclusive interview footage from Cori Brackett of Sweet Remedy.
Click here to view now...

Exclusive Footage from All Jacked Up!
See interview footage featuring the Health Ranger in the upcoming junk food film, All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...

Drug Ad Parody
See the Health Ranger's satire parody of Merck's cholesterol drug ad.
Click here to view now...

Free Health Reports!

Amazon Herb Company review
The pH Nutrition Guide to Acid / Alkaline Balance
Pet Food Ingredients Revealed! (shocking)
Medicine From Fish
The Water Cure
The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D

Featured CounterThink Cartoons

How the Cancer Industry Controls Women


The Sunscreen Myth


The Empire of Modern Medicine


Health Product Companies We Recommend

Read recommendations on supplement companies, health food manufacturers and personal care product makers that you can trust. Our 100% independent review list tells you who to trust and who to avoid in the natural health industry. Click to read.
This site is part of the Natural News Network © 2008 All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing International, LTD. is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. Truth Publishing sells no health or nutritional products and earns no money from health product manufacturers or promoters. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.