Secondhand Smoke Related to Year-Round Asthma Among Kids
Children with asthma who have at least one parent who smokes are
twice as likely to have asthma symptoms all year long compared with
children of non-smokers, according to researchers from the University
of Michigan (U-M) Health System.
The involved in-depth telephone interviews with 896 parents of
asthmatic children ages 2 to 12 years old in 10 states. "We
set out to look at children who have seasonal asthma symptoms, but
found that a substantial percentage have symptoms year-round,"
said Kathryn Slish, a researcher in the U-M Department of Pediatrics.
"We looked more closely and found a strong relationship between
parents' smoking status and the likelihood that their child would
have problems all year long."
"The only other factor that was associated with year-round
symptoms was Medicaid insurance coverage," added Cabana.
With well-publicized information that secondhand smoke can trigger
asthma in children, Slish said, "it's astounding that so many
parents smoke around their asthmatic kids, and don't stop even though
their children are having trouble breathing all year."
The researchers recommended that pediatricians, family physicians,
and nurses address the subject of smoking with the parents of any
child diagnosed with asthma and to provide resources to encourage
them to quit.
The study's findings were presented May 4 at the Pediatric Academic
Societies annual meeting.
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