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CDC scientists studied craniosynostosis, a disorder in
which
the sutures of the skull fuse prematurely resulting in an abnormally shaped
skull, among infants born in Metropolitan Atlanta during 1968-1980.
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Craniosynostosis affects approximately 5
infants per
10,000 live-born infants. Craniosynostosis affects approximately twice
as many male infants as female infants.
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Two recent studies suggested an increased
risk for
craniosynostosis among infants whose mothers smoked during pregnancy. In
our study, mothers who smoked cigarettes at all
during pregnancy were about twice as likely to have an infant with
craniosynostosis as mothers who did not smoke during pregnancy.
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Infants exposed to moderate maternal smoking
(5-14
cigarettes per day) were about 4 times as likely to have
craniosynostosis as infants not exposed to any maternal smoking.
There were too few infants exposed to heavy maternal smoking (15
cigarettes or more per day) to adequately assess the risk associated
with heavy smoking.
Results are published in: Teratology
2000;62:145-146.
Date:
June 17, 2005
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities
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