Children who are exposed to tobacco smoke during pregnancy may be more likely to develop diabetes as adults , something especially evident in the case of women.
This is suggested by a study conducted by a team of researchers coordinated by Michele La Merrill, a professor in the Department of Environmental Toxicology at the University of California, Davis, who has examined the cases of 1,801 American diabetic women born between 1959 and 1967 .
According to these scientists in the Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease , this link between tobacco and diabetes is maintained independently of other factors that are usually related to the appearance of this disease , such as obesity or the presence of the same disease in the fathers.
Until now, it was known that tobacco smoke could be involved in the appearance of various pathologies or unwanted scenarios, such as a greater probability that babies have a lower birth weight. However, these experts point out that cigarette smoke, especially when it comes from those smoked by the mother, seems to promote the development of diabetes in her daughters, even if they follow a healthy lifestyle or lack a previous clinical picture complicated. Of course, these same researchers warn that it will be necessary to carry out more studies to confirm their results.
