Preterm Birth, Developmental Smoke/Nicotine Exposure, and Life-Long Pulmonary Sequelae
Chie Kurihara,
Katherine M. Kuniyoshi,
Virender K. Rehan
Affiliations
Chie Kurihara
Department of Pediatrics, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Katherine M. Kuniyoshi
Department of Pediatrics, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Virender K. Rehan
Department of Pediatrics, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
This review delineates the main pulmonary issues related to preterm birth, perinatal tobacco/nicotine exposure, and its effects on offspring, focusing on respiratory health and its possible transmission to subsequent generations. We review the extent of the problem of preterm birth, prematurity-related pulmonary effects, and the associated increased risk of asthma later in life. We then review the impact of developmental tobacco/nicotine exposure on offspring asthma and the significance of transgenerational pulmonary effects following perinatal tobacco/nicotine exposure, possibly via its effects on germline epigenetics.
