Reproductive outcomes of water pipe smoking: A scoping review

Abstract

Objective: To present an overview of the adverse effects of water pipe smoking on various aspects of reproduction and perinatal complications, covering all the most relevant studies, from descriptive findings to clinical trials.

Methods: We reviewed the literature and included full publications in English provided by international biomedical databases, including PubMed, Science Direct, EBSCO, Scopus, and Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library over the last 38 years (May 1985 to June 2023). Search terms (Water pipe, Narghile, Shisha, Dokha, etc., and Reproduction, Fertility, etc.) were adopted from Medical Subheading (MeSH) and Boolean operators were utilized to improve sensitivity.

Results: 133 Papers were identified in the initial search, of which 29 were excluded due to duplication. Eliminating search overlap and irrelevant records by reviewing titles and abstracts reduced 42 papers. 62 Full-publication articles met the inclusion criteria. We summarized the effects of waterpipe smoke exposure on reproductive health based on three main categories: male and female fertility, fetal and neonatal outcomes, and pregnancy complications.

Conclusions: Water pipe smoking has potential adverse effects on different aspects of human reproductive health, including semen parameters, male and female fertility, and fetal and neonatal health, and contributes to many maternal complications and morbidities.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the peer-reviewers who provided valuable feedback on this manuscript.

Funding

This study received no extramural funding.

Authors' contributions

Sahar Rostami contributed to the conceptualization, study design, and wrote the first draft. Sahar Rostami, Farzane Fereidouni, Arezoo Maleki-Hajiagha, Mohadese Motaharinejad, and Somayye Majidi collected the data. Sahar Rostami and Somayye Majidi interpreted the data. Arezoo Maleki-Hajiagha paraphrased and proofread the manuscript. Fardin Amidi supervised the data collection and analysis, interpreted the results, and drafted the manuscript. All authors agreed on the final version of the manuscript.

Publisher’ s Note

The Publisher of the Journal remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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