Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25241028›Full record

ReviewEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2014

Prenatal nicotine exposure and child behavioural problems.

Carla M T Tiesler, Joachim Heinrich

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
67citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
6.2field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

67 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 121 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
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  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. A Meta-Analysis of Maternal Smoking during Pregnancy and Autism Spectrum Disorder Risk in Offspring.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2015
    Pooled it
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. The impact of an obstetric substance use screening and biologic testing protocol on neonatal drug testing.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. The Effects of THC and Nicotine on Attention: A Narrative Review.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2025
    Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Carla M T TieslerHelmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology I, Ingolstaedter Landstrasse 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany, carla.tiesler@helmholtz-muenchen.de.
Joachim Heinrich
Helmholtz Zentrum München · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In utero exposure to tobacco smoke has been related to numerous adverse health effects in new-borns, infants, children, adolescents and adults. The aim of this review was to summarise findings on prenatal nicotine exposure and its relationship with behavioural problems in the offspring. The majority of studies, and especially several recent epidemiological studies, observed a higher likelihood for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or ADHD symptoms in exposed subjects. However, both human and animal studies have failed to provide clear evidence on causality. Existing literature on studies investigating the association between prenatal nicotine exposure and conduct or externalising problems in the offspring suggests a causal effect. The establishment of a final conclusion concerning the relationship between prenatal nicotine exposure and internalising problems in the offspring is complicated by insufficient data and mixed results in epidemiological studies. Prenatal nicotine exposure has been associated with altered brain structure and function in human offspring, and a proposed biological mechanism is related to nicotine's adverse influence on neurotransmitter systems during brain development. In conclusion, establishing a statement on the causality of the relationship between prenatal nicotine exposure and behavioural problems in children remains a challenging task. Nevertheless, considering the results of an increasing number of studies which link prenatal exposure to nicotine to externalising problems applying different methodologies to account for confounding and in view of other adverse health effects known to be caused by this exposure, parents should consider smoking cessation.

Indexed as

AnimalsAttention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityChildChild Behavior DisordersFemaleHumansMaternal ExposureMaternal-Fetal ExchangeNicotinePregnancyPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsSmokingNicotine

Identifiers

PMID25241028
PMCPMC4186967
OpenAlexW2036826698

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.