Number Of Smokers In Household Research Articles

The prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure and related factors among schoolchildren in Northeast Thailand

Background: The prevalence of tobacco consumption in Thailand has gradually declined; however, the prevalence of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) is still high. The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of SHS exposure and examine the association between exposure to SHS and depressive symptoms among schoolchildren, and test for moderation by the number of smokers in household. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 1105 schoolchildren. Socioeconomics factors, depressive symptoms and exposure to SHS variables were collected. We used the chi-square test for testing the factors associated to SHS exposure. In addition, we used the Mantel Haenszel test for testing interaction effect of depression to SHS exposure by the number of smokers in home. Multiple logistic regression was used to test the factors related to SHS exposure adjusted for confounders. Results: The prevalence of exposure to SHS was 58.2% (95%CI: 55.2, 61.1). The schoolchildren with abnormal depression status were 1.8 times more likely to have been exposed to SHS (95%CI: 1.3, 2.5). In addition, the number of smokers in the home did not modify the association between exposure to SHS and depressive symptoms (P: 0.964). Conclusions: An association between exposure to SHS and depressive in schoolchildren was observed, but this relationship was not affected by the number of smokers in children’s homes.

The prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure and related factors among schoolchildren in Northeast Thailand.

Background: The prevalence of tobacco consumption in Thailand has gradually declined; however, the prevalence of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) is still high. The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of SHS exposure and examine the association between exposure to SHS and depressive symptoms among schoolchildren, and test for moderation by the number of smokers in household. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 1105 schoolchildren. Socioeconomics factors, depressive symptoms and exposure to SHS variables were collected. We used the chi-square test for testing the factors associated to SHS exposure. In addition, we used the Mantel Haenszel test for testing interaction effect of depression to SHS exposure by the number of smokers in home. Multiple logistic regression was used to test the factors related to SHS exposure adjusted for confounders. Results: The prevalence of exposure to SHS was 58.2% (95%CI: 55.2, 61.1). The schoolchildren with abnormal depression status were 1.8 times more likely to have been exposed to SHS (95%CI: 1.3, 2.5). In addition, the number of smokers in the home did not modify the association between exposure to SHS and depressive symptoms (P: 0.964). Conclusions: An association between exposure to SHS and depressive in schoolchildren was observed, but this relationship was not affected by the number of smokers in children's homes.

Prevalence of Lung Cancer in Non Smoker Patients Attending Al-Diwaniyah Teaching Hospital

Background: Smoking is a well known risk factor that is implicated in a number of human malignant disorders. Aim of the study: To study the prevalence of lung cancer in a sample of Iraqi non smoker patients and the main risk factor implicated in such malignant tumor. Patients and Method: In this hospital based study, in order to explore the prevalence rate of bronchogenic carcinoma in non smoker patients ,it retrospectively collected data about those patients for the last four years, starting from January 2016 through June 2019. These information were retrieved from patients records that are already present in oncology and respiratory units in Al-Diwaniyah teaching hospital, Al-Diwaniyah province, Mid-Euphrates region of Iraq. The following variables were included in the questionnaire form: Age, gender, occupation, education level, residency, socioeconomic status, marital status history of smoking, history of second hand smoking, number of household smokers, type of smoking, history of alcoholism, history of chronic illness, the main presenting clinical features and clinical features of carcinoma and finding in examination as well as those obtained from investigations. Results: In the current study, the prevalence rate of all cases of lung cancer during the period of study was 61 out of 403 (15.1 %). the rate of lung cancer in none smokers, in the current study, was 39.3 %. Old age individuals were the main age group affected and there was female predilection. there was also no significant difference in the distribution of patients and control subjects according to residency, occupation, level of education marital status and socioeconomic status (P > 0.05). In the current study, the prevalence rate of passive smoking in patients was significantly higher than that in control subjects, 70.8 % versus 40 %. Moreover, the number of household smokers was significantly higher inpatients group than in control group. Conclusion: Lung cancer in non smokers appears to be significantly correlated with passive smoking in addition to increase incidence in old age and women

Association of household smoking status in childhood with young adults' educational attainment and smoking status: Results from a series of population-based cross-sectional surveys in Japan.

Smoking in young adulthood is a risk factor for future health-related disabilities and a cause of expanding health inequalities. Education and smoking are inversely associated. Using population-based representative data, this study aimed to clarify how the presence of household smokers during childhood related to both current smoking status and educational attainment among young adults. Surveys were distributed to young adults (19-20years) invited to coming-of-age ceremonies in 2014-2017 in a rural area in Japan. Data were collected on low educational attainment (defined as≤12years of education), current smoking status, and childhood household smoking status. We used logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios (ORs) of low educational attainment for household smoking status. A total of 17.6% of men (n=1077) and 3.8% of women (n=1021) were current smokers. Current smoking was more common among participants from households with smokers (P<0.001 for both men and women). The odds of low educational attainment were significantly higher for participants from smoking households (OR: 1.59, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17-2.17 for men; OR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.61-3.24, for women). All associations were characterized by a dose-response relationship with the number of household smokers. The number of household smokers in childhood was positively associated with current smoking and negatively associated with level of educational attainment among young adults. Controlling for year and geographical area, exposure to family smokers in childhood appears to be a risk factor for the intergenerational transmission of health inequalities.

Thirdhand Smoke in the Homes of Medically Fragile Children: Assessing the Impact of Indoor Smoking Levels and Smoking Bans.

Thirdhand smoke (THS) residue results from secondhand smoke, and is emerging as a distinct public health hazard, particularly for medically fragile pediatric patients living with smokers. THS is difficult to remove and readily reacts with other pollutants to form carcinogens and ultrafine particles. This study investigated THS found in homes of high-risk infants admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit and their association with characteristics (eg, number of household smokers) hypothesized to influence THS. Baseline data from 141 hospitalized infants' homes were analyzed, along with follow-up data (n = 22) to explore household smoking characteristics and THS changes in response to indoor smoking ban policies. Households with an indoor ban, in which not more than 10 cigarettes/d were smoked, had the lowest levels of THS contamination compared to homes with no ban (P < .001) and compared to homes with an indoor ban in which greater numbers of cigarettes were smoked (P < .001). Importantly, homes with an indoor ban in which at least 11 cigarettes/d were smoked were not different from homes without a ban. The follow-up sample of 22 homes provided initial evidence indicating that, unless a ban was implemented, THS levels in homes continued to increase over time. Preliminary longitudinal data suggest that THS may continue to accumulate in homes over time and household smoking bans may be protective. However, for homes with high occupant smoking levels, banning indoor smoking may not be fully adequate to protect children from THS. Unless smoking is reduced and bans are implemented, medically fragile children will be exposed to the dangers of THS.

The evolution of risk factors for respiratory syncytial virus-related hospitalisation in infants born at 32–35 weeks’ gestational age: time-based analysis using data from the FLIP-2 study

The aim of this study was to examine whether the risk for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related hospitalisation changes through the first year of life in infants of 32-35 weeks' gestational age (wGA). Risk factors from the FLIP-2 study (190 cases/4566 age-matched controls) were included in a Cox regression analysis wherein time slices were taken at 1-month intervals from birth. Half of all RSV hospitalisations occurred in the first 68 days after birth, with 56% occurring within 90 days. The time taken for 50% of hospitalisations to occur was 148 days for those born outside the RSV season and 58 days for those born within the season. By 90 days old, 84% of infants born in the season and 20% of those born outside the season were hospitalised. In both groups, hospitalisations occurred ≥5 months after birth. Male sex, smoking whilst pregnant, month of birth, duration of breastfeeding, number of siblings at school, and number of smokers in household all contributed to the risk of RSV hospitalisation beyond the age of 90 days. The risk of RSV hospitalisation appears to persist to at least 5-6 months old in 32-35 wGA infants, which has implications for the optimal management of disease prevention.

TNF-308 Modifies the Effect of Second-hand Smoke on Respiratory Illness-Related School Absences

Wenten, M, Berhane K, Rappaport EB, et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005;172:1563–1568 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY. To investigate the role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) G→308A, a variant in the promoter region of TNF, that has been associated with inflammatory diseases including asthma in the susceptibility of secondhand-smoke–exposed children to respiratory illness. STUDY POPULATION. A prospective cohort of fourth-grade students (N = 1935) from 27 elementary schools in southern California from whom school-absence data were collected from January to June of 1996. Approximately 70% of the children (n = 1351) provided a buccal cell sample. METHODS. Schools provided daily absence summary information for the study subjects, and each absence was recorded as illness or nonillness. Telephone interviews regarding each illness-related absence were conducted with parents. School absences were classified as lower respiratory illnesses if wet cough, wheeze, or asthma was present. Secondhand-smoke exposure was determined by parent/guardian written responses on self-administered questionnaires and categorized as none, 1 to 29, or ≥30 cigarettes smoked per day inside the home. Asthma status was determined by parental response to the question, “Has a doctor ever diagnosed this child as having asthma?” Buccal cell samples were collected, and the genomic DNA was analyzed for the G-to-A transition polymorphism at position 308 in TNF by polymerase chain reaction and allelic discrimination assays. RESULTS. There was a 51% greater risk of lower respiratory illness–related school absences among children with secondhand-smoke exposure compared with those who were unexposed. Children with the TNF GG genotype exhibited similar absence rates regardless of whether they were exposed or unexposed to secondhand smoke. Unexposed children with at least 1 copy of the TNF G→308A allele had similar absence rates for lower respiratory illnesses compared with children with the TNF G→308GG genotype. However, absence rates in children with the variant A allele and secondhand-smoke exposure were markedly increased. Children with the variant A allele and secondhand-smoke exposure had a 75% increase in risk for illness-related absences compared with unexposed children with the GG genotype. In children with the variant A allele, illness-related absence risk increased as the number of smokers in the home increased. In addition, children with 1 variant A allele who were exposed to ≥30 cigarettes per day had a relative risk of 2.75 for respiratory illness–related school absence compared with unexposed children with the GG genotype. Restricting analysis to children without asthma did not substantially alter the findings. CONCLUSIONS. Secondhand-smoke–exposed children who carried a TNF G→308A variant allele were at highest risk for respiratory illness–related school absences. A strong dose-response relationship in this group of patients was found for respiratory illness–related absence risk in relation to the number of household smokers and number of cigarettes smoked. The genetic susceptibility associated with the TNF G→308A allele is likely mediated by variation in inflammatory responses to secondhand smoke. REVIEWER COMMENTS. Secondhand-smoke exposure is common among children and causes substantial morbidity. However, there is variation in susceptibility to the effects of secondhand smoke. This study demonstrated that differences in genotype of mediators of inflammation may explain variation in susceptibility to secondhand smoke. Additional studies are needed to elucidate differences in genotypes of other inflammatory mediators, which may produce a similar effect. This may provide one more weapon in our arsenal to convince parents to quit smoking or devise protective agents for the exposed.

Accuracy of parental reporting of secondhand smoke exposure: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III

The accuracy of parental reports of youth secondhand smoke exposure has received limited attention in the research literature. Such reports were compared to serum cotinine levels among participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III who were aged 4-16 years. Likely smokers with serum cotinine values of 14 ng/ml or more and self-reported tobacco users were excluded from the analysis (n = 87), leaving 2,524 youth participants. One adult guardian, typically the parent, was asked to identify household smokers and estimate the number of cigarettes smoked in the home. Using cotinine levels of at least 0.2 ng/ml as the criterion, we found the sensitivity and specificity of any reported smokers in the home to be .65 and .92, respectively. Spearman correlations between cotinine levels and the number of smokers and the number of cigarettes consumed in the household were .67 and .68, respectively, and varied little across subgroups, including age, gender, and ethnicity of the child as well as household poverty status and educational attainment of the parent. Parental reports of household smoking alone fail to capture all youth secondhand smoke exposures, but they correlate well with cotinine levels when expressed as the number of household smokers or the number of cigarettes smoked in the household. Additional research is needed to determine whether reliance on parental reports of secondhand smoke exposure leads to bias in studies examining health outcomes in children and adolescents. Also, additional research is needed to better determine the level of secondhand smoke exposure that is biologically important in children and adolescents.

Gender, Environmental Tobacco Smoke, and Pulmonary Function in Rural Children and Adolescents: The Humboldt Study

We examined the gender-related association between household exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and pulmonary function among 862 children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years living in the town of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, in 1993. Pulmonary function tests included forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), maximum mid-expiratory flow rate (FEF25-75), and flow rates at 75%, 50%, and 25% of vital capacity (Vmax75, Vmax50, and Vmax25). Each pulmonary function test variable was regressed on age, height, weight, and their quadratic and cubic polynomials, with the terms significant at the alpha level of 0.10 being retained. Residuals for the pulmonary function test variables, which are the differences between the observed and predicted values, were calculated. Estimations of ETS exposure were parental smoking status, number of household smokers, total daily cigarette consumption, and number of cigarettes smoked daily at home by household members. Maternal smoking status was significantly related to residual FEF25-75, Vmax75, Vmax50, and Vmax25. Number of household smokers and daily cigarette consumption by household members were significantly associated with FEV1, FEF25-75, Vmax75, Vmax50, and Vmax25, and the association between ETS exposure and pulmonary function was stronger in girls than in boys. Interaction of gender and number of cigarettes smoked daily at home was significantly related to FEF25-75, Vmax75, Vmax50, and Vmax25 among the non-smoking subjects. We concluded that ETS exposure had a larger effect on pulmonary function in girls than in boys.

Estimation of environmental tobacco smoke exposure during pregnancy using a single question on household smokers versus serum cotinine.

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure has been studied in relation to many diseases. The ability of a study to find an association between exposure and disease is, in part, determined by the accuracy of the exposure measure. This study examined how accurately one question, the number of smokers in the household, asked at birth, predicts ETS exposure in pregnant nonsmokers as assessed by serum cotinine. Blood specimens, drawn at 15-19 weeks gestation, from 783 women who participated in a prenatal screening program in California in 1992 were analyzed for cotinine. Serum cotinine was significantly correlated with the number of smokers in the household (r=0.35, P<0.001, geometric mean cotinine (nanograms per milliliter) for 0 smokers=0.06, 1 smoker=0.18, 2 or more smokers=0.29). Using multiple regression, the number of smokers in the household accounted for 11% of the variation in serum cotinine. Cotinine concentrations were twice as high in women living with one or more smokers compared to women not living with a smoker, when reported exposure (0 or >0 h) at home, work and other places was similar. Thus, the number of household smokers can account for a statistically significant amount of variation in serum cotinine and omission of this information would result in an underestimation of ETS exposure. Although use of this question alone does not provide an adequate estimation of ETS exposure as determined by serum cotinine, the results of this study indicate that this question is an important component of assessing ETS exposure.

Segregation analyses of asthma and respiratory allergy: the Humboldt family study.

We performed segregation analyses of asthma and respiratory allergy based on data from 309 nuclear families comprising 1,053 individuals living in the town of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, in 1993, using the REGD program of the S.A.G.E. program package. For adults, information on asthma and history of respiratory allergy was provided by the subjects themselves, and for children by their parents. When asthma was considered as the trait in segregation analysis, models of no major effect, with or without familial effects, were rejected, but they were not rejected after adjusting for history of respiratory allergy. The major gene hypothesis was not rejected before adjusting for history of respiratory allergy. When respiratory allergy was analyzed as the trait, both major gene and multifactorial models fitted the data well, regardless of whether there was adjustment for asthma or not. Other covariates adjusted for in the segregation analyses were age, sex, number of household smokers, current smoking, number of household members, generation, and house type. The data suggest that a major gene related to respiratory allergy may explain the familial aggregation of asthma.

Use of Dipyrone during Pregnancy and Risk of Wilmsʼ Tumor

The relation between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and childhood asthma is not clear. A 1993 study of 892 subjects age 6-17 years (87.5% of 1,019 eligible subjects) living in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, showed that a lifetime history of asthma and asthma attack during the past 12 months were more common among allergic children than among non-allergic children. The number of household smokers and total daily cigarette consumption by household members were linearly related to both lifetime history of asthma and recent asthma in nonallergic children, but not in allergic children. Out study indicates that allergic status does alter the relation between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and childhood asthma.

Risk factors for childhood asthma and wheezing. Importance of maternal and household smoking.

To identify modifiable risk factors for wheezing illness in childhood, the associations between current asthma or wheezing and factors such as household smoking, damp and dietary salt preference were measured in a questionnaire-based prevalence study of schoolchildren 7 to 9 yr of age in Cape Town. In a random sample of 15 schools, questionnaires were completed by parents of 1,955 children, from which 368 cases and 294 controls were selected on the basis of reported asthma diagnosis or symptoms. Urinary cotinine concentrations were measured, and the parents were interviewed. An exposure-response relationship between the urinary cotinine creatinine ratio and asthma/wheeze was observed. In multivariate analysis, predictors of asthma/wheeze were hay fever (odds ratio [OR] - 5.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.16 to 8.89), eczema (OR = 2.19; 95% CI = 1.33-3.62), parental asthma (OR = 1.77; 95% CI = 1.11 to 2.84), absence of paternal contribution to income (OR = 1.72; 95% CI = 1.17 to 2.54), maternal smoking in pregnancy (OR = 1.87; 95% CI = 1.25 to 2.81), and each additional household smoker (OR = 1.15; 95% CI = 1.01 to 1.30). Findings were similar, with higher odds ratios for most variables, except number of household smokers, when the group was restricted to children with parent-reported asthma. The findings confirm that household smoking is an important modifiable risk factor in asthma/wheeze among young schoolchildren, and they suggest that maternal smoking in pregnancy and current household exposure are independent contributors to this effect.

Influence of Environmental Tobacco Smoke on Asthma in Nonallergic and Allergic Children

The relation between past induced abortions and subsequent fetal loss is still unclear. We report a case-control study with 331 cases of first spontaneous abortion and 993 controls with no previous spontaneous abortion and a normal pregnancy at the same period of pregnancy. In comparison with primigravid women, the odds ratio for a fetal loss in the current one was 1.41 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.81-2.43] among women with one previous pregnancy ending in induced abortion, 4.43 (95% CI = 1.46-13.36) among those with two previous induced abortions out of two pregnancies, and 1.35 (95% CI = 0.64-2.82) among women with three or more previous pregnancies ending in one or more induced abortions.