The mean birth weight of babies bor

The mean birth weight of babies born to mothers exposed to
ETS, in this study, was lower than that of babies born to unexposed
mothers, though the differences were insignificant after multiple linear regression analysis. Studies correlating the
urinary cotinine levels and birth weight have shown a deficit
varying from 48 to 104 g in the babies born to mothers with
higher urinary cotinine levels as compared to mothers with
lower cotinine levels.Similarly, the birth weights have been
found to be lower in studies that have compared self-reported
ETS exposure from all sources (home and work). After adjustment
for potential confounders, most of the studies showed
small to moderate decrements in mean birth weight (10 to 90
g) associated with ETS exposure.Previous studies that have
used the same methodology as ours have demonstrated that
the differences in birth weight amongst infants born to ETS
exposed and ETS non-exposed mothers vary from a decrement
of 5 g to a decrement of more than 200 g. There is limited
data available from India. In a study from Vellore, India, it was
shown that “Passive smoking was associated with a decrease in
birth weight of 63 g (95% CI 12-114 g) even after adjusting for
other variables known to affect birth weight”.