Secondhand Smoke and Physical and Mental Health of Non-smoking Mothers

Abstract

ISEE-0446 Background and Objective: According to the 2006 US Surgeon General’s Report second-hand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and in adults who do not smoke. In this study we present the results of analyses exploring the independent association of household exposure to SHS and maternal physical and mental health among non-smoking mothers. Methods: Nationally representative data from the 2000–2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) were utilized. The physical and mental health of mothers living with children <18 years who lived with 1 or more adult smokers (n = 3,344) were compared to the health of mothers living in households without adult smokers (n = 14,836). Medical Outcomes Short Form-12 (SF-12) Physical Component Scale (PCS) and Mental Component Scale (MCS) were used. Results: 79.2% of all mothers are non-smokers, and 20.8% smoke. Among non-smoking mothers, 17.4% live in households with at least one adult smoker: 14.2% live with one adult smoker and 3.2% live with 2 or more smokers. The presence of an adult smoker as well as increasing number of smokers in the household are both significantly negatively associated with MCS and PCS scores in bivariate analyses (P < 0.001 for each). Adjusting for age, race, poverty category, marital status, education and occupation in logistic regression analyses, the presence of at least one smoker is independently associated with decreases of MCS (OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.80–0.99) and PCS score (OR = 0.81, 95%CI = 0.73–0.90). There is evidence of a dose response relationship with increasing number of smokers in the household both for the MCS and the PCS. Conclusions: The results of the present study demonstrate impaired mental and physical health of non-smoking mothers who live with smokers. The risk is discernible with the presence of a single adult smoker in a household and increases with the number of smokers. Supported by Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute grant and NIH grant #P60MD000538.