Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42434477›Full record

ArticleTobacco prevention & cessation2026

Cigarette use, secondhand smoke exposure and age-related infertility among US women: A cross-sectional NHANES study.

Yuyan Li, Ying Zhou, Bingxue Wu, Yan Zhang, Yishi Jiang, Junqing Wu, Yan Che

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Tobacco prevention & cessation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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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

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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

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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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

7 authors.

Yuyan LiNHC Key Lab of Reproduction Regulation, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Reproductive Health Drug and Devices, Shanghai Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies, Shanghai, China.
Ying ZhouDepartment of Research and Development, Shanghai Proton and Heavy Ion Center, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Proton and Heavy Ion Radiation Therapy, Shanghai, China.
Bingxue WuNHC Key Lab of Reproduction Regulation, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Reproductive Health Drug and Devices, Shanghai Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies, Shanghai, China.
Yan ZhangNHC Key Lab of Reproduction Regulation, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Reproductive Health Drug and Devices, Shanghai Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies, Shanghai, China.
Yishi JiangNHC Key Lab of Reproduction Regulation, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Reproductive Health Drug and Devices, Shanghai Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies, Shanghai, China.
Junqing WuNHC Key Lab of Reproduction Regulation, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Reproductive Health Drug and Devices, Shanghai Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies, Shanghai, China.
Yan CheNHC Key Lab of Reproduction Regulation, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Reproductive Health Drug and Devices, Shanghai Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies, Shanghai, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionWhile tobacco exposure is linked to infertility, age-specific risks across different exposure groups remain poorly characterized. This study aimed to examine the associations of active cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure with female infertility and to assess potential effect modification by age.

methodsThis is a cross-sectional secondary analysis of publicly available data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2013-2020 cycles). The primary exposures were self-reported active cigarette smoking, SHS exposure (assessed via questionnaire and serum cotinine). The outcome was self-reported infertility. Survey-weighted restricted cubic spline (RCS) and logistic regression models were used to assess the respective associations.

resultsThis study comprised 4982 women aged 18-49 years. The overall prevalence of self-reported infertility was 12.0% (95% CI: 10.7-13.2), with the highest prevalence observed at approximately 40 years. The association between tobacco smoke exposure and infertility showed a significant negative interaction with age, observed for both self-reported smoking status and serum cotinine levels, and was most pronounced among women aged 18-40 years. In weighted multivariable logistic regression models fitted to the full sample, at age of 18 years, former smokers had significantly higher odds of infertility than never smokers (OR=2.78; 95% CI: 1.30-5.96). Also at this age, when using serum cotinine <0.05 ng/mL as the reference (unexposed), higher odds were observed both in the SHS-exposed group (0.05-10 ng/mL; OR=2.59; 95% CI: 1.25-5.38) and the active-smoking-exposed group (>10 ng/mL; OR=3.79; 95% CI: 1.86-7.69).

conclusionsAmong women aged 18-40 years, cigarette smoking and greater tobacco smoke exposure, indicated by serum cotinine, were associated with infertility. Public health efforts should prioritize smoking prevention, cessation, and reduced secondhand smoke exposure to support female reproductive health.

Indexed as

age-related infertilitycigarette smokingsecondhand smokeserum cotinine

Identifiers

PMID42434477
PMCPMC13352491

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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.