Teenage and adult pregnancy: A differential relationship between socio-economic status and smoking

Abstract

Introduction: Smoking occurs frequently during pregnancy, thereby putting mother and child at health risks. Low socio-economic status is a risk factor for smoking. Aim: To investigate the relationship between smoking and low income in teenage and adult pregnancy, which is an important measure of poor socioeconomic status. Method: The authors used subject-level data from the US NSDUH database, which contains information on pregnancies and smoking. Results: Teenage pregnancy is are associated with higher, whereas adult pregnancies with lower prevalence of smoking compared to the age-matched female population. The association between income and smoking is age-dependent. Among adults there is an inverse relationship (high income – low-risk of smoking), while in teenage pregnancy smoking increases with income. Conclusions: To investigate in teenage and adult pregnancy the relationship between smoking and low income, which is an important measure of poor socio-economic status. Higher socioeconomic status may be associated with risky behaviour, thereby increasing both the risk of smoking and early pregnancy. Orv Hetil., 2013, 154, 376–381.