Vascular Effects, Potential Pathways and Mediators of Fetal Exposure to Alcohol and Cigarette Smoking during Pregnancy: A Narrative Review.

(1) Background: Programming of atherosclerosis results in vascular structure and function alterations, which may be attributed to fetal exposure to maternal tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and several lifestyle factors in the first few years of life. This review aims to study the effects of teratogen exposure in utero on vascular dysfunction in offspring and consider mediators and pathways originating from the fetal environment. (2) Methods: Eligible studies were identified in the PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases.

Effect of maternal cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy on birth weight and cardiometabolic risk factors in infants, children and adolescents: a systematic review protocol.

Introduction: Tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy are particularly prevalent in low socioeconomic status populations, with an adverse association with birth outcomes and cardiometabolic risk factors. However, the direct and indirect effects of prenatal cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy on cardiometabolic risk in offspring have been rather inconsistent. This may be attributed to multiple factors, such as the amount and timing of exposure to tobacco smoking and alcohol during pregnancy; the influence of maternal, environmental and socioeconomic factors; or how risk factors were defined by individual researchers and studies.