Antenatal Vitamin C supplementation enhances respiratory health of offsprings of pregnant smokers

Vitamin C supplementation during pregnancy has been shown to dramatically enhance airway function and respiratory health in children up to the age of 5 in a study conducted by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University.

While prior research has shown that vitamin C improves airway function in babies, this is the first study to suggest that this benefit may be sustained into the preschool years.

The research was published in JAMA Pediatrics.

The addictive qualities of tobacco products may make quitting smoking very difficult for many people, despite anti-smoking campaigns and a steady decline in adult smoking over the previous decade. Over 10% of American women continue to smoke throughout pregnancy, exposing approximately 400,000 newborns to secondhand smoke each year.

By now, it's common knowledge how highly addicting tobacco products are. For many people, quitting smoking may need many tries over an extended period of time, assuming they are successful.

Even if the parent is difficult to stop smoking, it is vital that we have a strategy to safeguard the developing lungs of the baby. In prenatal and throughout a child's adolescence, our discoveries have uncovered an accessible and efficient strategy for ensuring good respiratory health.

In-utero smoke exposure from mother smoking during pregnancy may be harmful to a growing child and is associated with adverse health consequences, such as delayed fetal lung development, diminished airway function, and an increased risk for wheezing and asthma. In addition, poor airway expansion early in childhood increases the chance for lifetime illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the third greatest cause of mortality globally.

Researchers recruited pregnant women from OHSU, PeaceHealth Southwest Washington Medical Center, and Indiana University for this study. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, women received either 500 mg of vitamin C per day or a placebo.

Statistical analysis revealed that supplementing pregnant smokers with vitamin C before to 23 weeks of gestation led to considerably improved airway function in their 5-year-old kids.

While the results may enhance the health of the many unborn children who are exposed to secondhand smoking, they may have much larger implications: The discoveries may lead to a greater understanding of the health effects of various smoke exposures, including as indoor and outdoor air pollution, vaping, and wildfires, as well as improved therapies.

Understanding the reasons of improvement and determining if better respiratory outcomes will remain throughout a child's lifetime requires more research. Researchers are particularly interested in learning more about the optimal duration of vitamin C therapy and the necessary measures to incorporate this medication into mainstream medical practice.

Reference –

Cindy T. McEvoy et al, Effect of Vitamin C Supplementation for Pregnant Smokers on Offspring Airway Function and Wheeze at Age 5 Years, JAMA Pediatrics (2022). DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.4401.