In utero smoke exposure appears to be associated with an increased likelihood of high waist circumference and body mass index percentiles, especially among female adolescents, according to a recent study. These results demonstrate the long-term cardiometabolic impact in offspring, highlighting the importance of pre-pregnancy smoking cessation. Participants included 7,464 adolescents aged 12–15 years identified from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2014). Multiple logistic and linear regression analyses estimated sex-specific means and odds ratios (ORs) for the association between in utero smoke exposure and metabolic syndrome (MetS) and cardiometabolic risk factors. Researchers found:

• MetS prevalence was 9.0% in exposed vs 5.9% in unexposed adolescents.
• In utero smoke exposure was significantly associated with increased odds of MetS among males in models controlling for adolescent age, maternal age, and race/ethnicity (OR: 2.48), with attenuation of this effect in subsequent models.
• In utero smoke exposure was also associated with significantly elevated mean body mass index and waist circumference percentiles among female adolescents across most models in regression analyses.