A prospective study on intrauterine cannabis exposure and fetal blood flow

El Marroun, Hanan; Tiemeier, Henning; Steegers, Eric A.P.; Roos-Hesselink, Jolien W.; Jaddoe, Vincent W.V.; Hofman, Albert; Verhulst, Frank C.; van den Brink, Wim; Huizink, Anja C.

doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2010.03.006

« Previous Next »Early Human Development
Volume 86, Issue 4 , Pages 231-236, April 2010

A prospective study on intrauterine cannabis exposure and fetal blood flow

Hanan El Marroun
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center (EMC), The Netherlands
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, EMC, Sophia Children's Hospital, The Netherlands
Henning Tiemeier
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, EMC, Sophia Children's Hospital, The Netherlands
- Department of Epidemiology, EMC, The Netherlands
Eric A.P. Steegers
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, EMC, The Netherlands
Jolien W. Roos-Hesselink
- Department of Cardiology, EMC, The Netherlands
Vincent W.V. Jaddoe
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center (EMC), The Netherlands
- Department of Epidemiology, EMC, The Netherlands
Albert Hofman
- Department of Epidemiology, EMC, The Netherlands
Frank C. Verhulst
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, EMC, Sophia Children's Hospital, The Netherlands
Wim van den Brink
- Academic Medical Center University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, The Netherlands
Anja C. Huizink
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, EMC, Sophia Children's Hospital, The Netherlands
- University of Amsterdam, Department of Educational Sciences, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author. Department of Educational Sciences, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94208, 1090 GE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 20 52 51 558; fax: +31 20 52 51 200.

Received 16 December 2009; received in revised form 30 March 2010; accepted 30 March 2010.

Abstract

Background

Cannabis is commonly used among pregnant women. It is unclear whether cannabis exposure causes hemodynamic modifications in the fetus, like tobacco does.

Aims

This study aims to ascertain fetal blood redistribution due to intrauterine cannabis exposure.

Methods

This study was embedded in the Generation R Focus Study, a population-based cohort of parents and children followed from pregnancy onwards. In late pregnancy, fetal hemodynamics was assessed with ultrasound measurements in cannabis-exposed and non-exposed fetuses. Pregnant women reported about substance use during pregnancy. A distinction was made between continued cannabis use (n=9), cannabis use only in early pregnancy (n=14), continued tobacco use (n=85), tobacco use only in early pregnancy (n=92), and no tobacco or cannabis use during pregnancy (n=85).

Results

Continued cannabis use was associated with an increased pulsatility and resistance index of the uterine artery, while discontinued cannabis use was associated with a decreased pulsatility, and resistance index, as compared to controls. Additionally, continued cannabis exposure resulted in a significantly higher uterine pulsatility index and uterine resistance index compared to tobacco exposure. Continued cannabis use was found to be associated with a smaller aortic diameter, as well. No association between intrauterine cannabis exposure and the fetal cerebral vascular system was found.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that intrauterine cannabis exposure was associated with changes in hemodynamic programming of the vascular system of the fetus in late pregnancy mainly due to tobacco exposure, but intrauterine cannabis exposure did demonstrate a specific effect on the uterine blood flow.

Keywords: Fetal blood flow, Prenatal cannabis exposure