International Union for Circumpolar Health Ministry of Public Health and Social Development of RF Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences Medical Polar Fund “Science” The Northern Forum

Abstracts

Ethnic peculiarities of the North native inhabitants health

Objective: To test alternate ways to measure saliva cotinine in pregnant Alaska Native women.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study

Methods: A short questionnaire was administered by a research assistant to women attending prenatal clinics at the Alaska Native Medical Center. Saliva samples were collected using a Salivette device. The samples were analyzed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) and Nymox NicAlert strips. These immunoassay test strips are designed for on-the-spot evaluation of smoking status.

Results: Seventy one pregnant Alaska Native women participated in the pilot study. Their average age was 26 years. Eighteen women reported that they had used tobacco products (including one who used smokeless tobacco) during pregnancy. None of the women reported using both cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. Two women reported using the nicotine patch at some time during the pregnancy. Sixteen women reported that they smoked in the past 7 days. Among the 68 women for whom LC/MS/MS results were available, the median cotinine concentration was 0.09 ng/ml. Among the 60 for whom NicAlert strip analyses were available, the median cotinine concentration was 4.85 ng/ml. Median cotinine in the women who reported smoking cigarettes in the last 7 days was 111.0 ng/ml by LC/MS/MS (n=15) and 93.8 ng/ml by NicAlert (n=12). The cotinine concentration in 1 woman who reported chewing tobacco during pregnancy was 0.04 ng/ml by LC/MS/MS and 4.92 ng/ml by NicAlert. The cotinine concentrations in 2 women who reported using the nicotine patch were 298 ng/ml and 313 ng/ml by LC/MS/MS. Reported tobacco use in the last 7 days and LC/MS/MS cotinine concentrations were highly correlated (r=0.793). Reported tobacco use in the last 7 days and NicAlert cotinine concentrations were also highly correlated (r= 0.786). Using a cut-off of 10 ng/ml for smoking using LC/MS/MS, the accuracy of women’s self-report of smoking in the last 7 days was 97%. Using a cut-off of 15 ng/ml for smoking using NicAlert, the accuracy of women’s self-reported smoking in the last 7 days was 87%. Conclusions: Based on these findings, it appears that NicAlert analysis of saliva samples is a rapid and useful method for classification of smokers versus nonsmokers among pregnant Alaska Native women.

Note. Abstracts are published in author's edition

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Last update: 06-Jul-2012 (11:52:05)