Schizophrenia link to smoking during pregnancy found

Nicotine in a mother's blood was associated with a 38% increase in developing schizophrenia Credit: PA

A baby's chances of developing schizophrenia during later life is heightened by smoking during pregnancy, a study suggests.

Research in Finland found that the more women were exposed to nicotine the greater chance they had of having a child affected by the severe mental illness.

Signs of heavy nicotine exposure in a mother's blood were associated with a 38% increased likelihood of schizophrenia.

The study focussed on data pertaining to 1,000 schizophrenia patients. Scientists then matched their birth and health records with those of non-affected "control" individuals.

The findings were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry Credit: PA

Smoking habits were assessed by looking at levels of a nicotine marker, cotinine, in the blood.

Based on this measurement, a fifth of mothers of schizophrenia patients were found to have smoked heavily while pregnant, compared with 14.7% of mothers of controls.

Professor Alan Brown said he believed this was the first study "to show a relationship between foetal nicotine exposure and schizophrenia".

The findings were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.