Originally published August 6 2005
Kids' bad behavior linked to smoking during pregnancy
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Women who smoke in pregnancy may raise the risk of their child displaying anti-social behavior, researchers say.
WOMEN who smoke while pregnant face an increased risk of having unruly and badly behaved children, a study revealed today.
For the first time, researchers found an independent link between smoking during pregnancy and antisocial behaviour in sons and daughters.
A link was also seen with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Antisocial behaviour includes activities such as destroying belongings, bullying, stealing, telling lies and disobedience.
It is measured with a parents' questionnaire which provides scores based on the level at which such behaviour is experienced.
Previous studies have associated both antisocial behaviour and ADHD with smoking when pregnant.
But it was not clear whether those cases of antisocial behaviour were themselves related to smoking, or arose only as a consequence of ADHD.
ADHD is a known risk factor for antisocial behaviour.
The new study by the Institute of Psychiatry in London of 723 identical and 1173 non-identical twin pairs found that antisocial behaviour was linked to maternal smoking in its own right.
Because only identical twins share the same genes, comparing sets of identical and non-identical pairs can separate influences on health that are genetic or environmental.
The research covered twins born between 1980 and 1991 in Greater Manchester.
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