Did Grandma Smoke During Pregnancy? Grandchildren May Have Higher Autism Risk

Here is a new and particularly disturbing discovery that illustrates the saying: 'Parents eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge': A study from the University of Bristol, which examined 14,500 youths born in the 1990s, found that girls whose maternal grandmothers smoked during pregnancy had a 67% higher risk of exhibiting certain autism characteristics, such as impaired social communication skills and repetitive behaviors.

Additionally, the research team also found that if the grandmother smoked, she increased the risk of her grandchildren receiving an autism diagnosis by 53%. Since there were only 177 participants in the study with a clear autism diagnosis, the researchers could not reach solid conclusions about differences – if any – between boys and girls regarding a clear autism diagnosis. This is in contrast to the larger number of study participants who exhibited autism characteristics but were not officially diagnosed as autistic, where there was a noticeably greater effect on girls.

The discovery of a possible link between smoking and autism in grandchildren is part of long-term research on the effects of smoking in pregnancy on the development of the third generation. The number of diagnosed autism cases has risen significantly in recent years, and while there is no doubt that the increase is also related to improved diagnostic tools, researchers believe that environmental factors are also responsible for the jump in autism rates.

Previous studies investigating the link between maternal smoking and autism in the baby did not reach definitive conclusions. Interestingly, it was precisely a look forward one generation that yielded clear results – which were particularly evident when the mother herself (as opposed to the grandmother) did not smoke during pregnancy.

"We know that smoking can damage DNA or mitochondria, the powerhouse in each cell," the researchers say. "The initial mutations often have no visible effect on the mother, but their impact increases when she passes them on to her own children."

In other words, if until now you thought that avoiding smoking and exposure to smoking during pregnancy is important for your children, know that it is also important for future generations.