Selected trace elements and proteins in serum of apparently healthy newborn infants of mothers who smoked during pregnancy.

The serum concentrations of selected trace elements and proteins in cord blood from 17 newborn infants whose mothers were habitual smokers were compared with values from 22 infants of non-smoking mothers. All the mothers were healthy with normal pregnancies and deliveries. Cigarette smoke exposure was verified by determinations of nicotine, cotinine and thiocyanate concentrations in cord blood. Infants of smoking mothers had a slightly lower mean birth weight (3490 +/- 430 g) than control infants (3780 +/- 460 g). Infants of smokers had lower serum iron (p = 0.05) and prealbumin (p less than 0.05), but higher serum copper (p less than 0.05) and ceruloplasmin (p less than 0.01) levels than the controls. Infants of smoking mothers tended to have higher levels of the acute-phase reactants alpha-2-macroglobulin and orosomucoid, but lower levels of albumin, transferrin and retinol-binding-protein, although differences were not statistically significant.