EOH Research Seminar Series: Dr. Nora Lee

"Prenatal Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Infant Birth Weight in China"

The findings in the epidemiologic literature on prenatal secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and infant birth weight are varied.  The weight of the evidence, however, supports a causal association, although the magnitude of that association is expectedly smaller than for maternal active smoking during pregnancy and low birth weight (LBW). This presentation summarizes the research that was conducted on this topic in China, where the prevalences of active smoking and SHS exposure are much higher than in the United States.  In addition to the methodological challenges of studying SHS exposure and LBW, some of the cultural and other factors that influence data collection and interpretation of findings will be discussed.  Dr. Nora Lee is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and  Biostatistics.  She was a contributing author of the 2006 Surgeon General’s Report on The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke.  She is currently a co-investigator on the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI) Study, a multi-site study following pregnant women who already have an older child with autism and assessing the newborn’s development up to three years of age.  Dr. Lee also teaches the Perinatal Epidemiology course at Drexel School of Public Health.