[Cadmium and lead concentrations in the amniotic fluid of pregnant smokers and non-smokers].

Many studies showed the unhealthy effect of smoking on the fetus. Several mechanisms for the unfavorable effect are discussed. In the last few years interest has been shown in the occurrence of heavy metals such as cadmium and lead in smoke. In animal experiments high doses of cadmium showed mutations, teratogenicity and low doses showed retardation of fetal growth. Amniotic fluid examinations of smoking and non-smoking pregnant women showed that there is no barrier to cadmium from the placenta. A direct correlation between cigarette smoking and cadmium concentration in the amniotic fluid was found. Cadmium was discussed as a reason for hypertension. But this was not verified in our study. There were no correlations between the cadmium and lead content of amniotic fluid and the gestational age, and disturbances of the pregnancy nor a correlation to the incidence of abortions. The lead concentration in the amniotic fluid of smokers and non-smokers showed no significant difference. This is attributed to the ubiquitous exposition to lead with increasing pollution of the environment. The relatively small additional amounts of lead in cigarettes do not increase the amount of lead in the amniotic fluid.