Any Secondhand Smoke Exposure Increases Risks in Adolescents

While various levels of tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) affect risk of symptoms in different ways, any TSE is associated with an increased risk of urgent care (UC) or emergency department (ED) visits in nonsmoking adolescents, according to a recent study.

The researchers performed a secondary analysis of 7389 adolescents without a diagnosis of asthma who completed the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study wave 2.

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Overall, the researchers found that adolescents with TSE had an increased risk of shortness of breath, difficulty exercising, wheezing during/after exercise, and dry cough at night. Those adolescents who lived with a smoker had increased risk of wheezing or whistling in the chest, and only those with TSE at home were at increased risk of wheezing that disturbed sleep.

Those adolescents with TSE were less likely to report very good or excellent overall health and physical health and they were more likely to report that sometimes, often, or very often missed school due to illness. Home TSE of 1 or more hours was associated with an increased risk of ED/UC visit, but participants with any TSE had a higher risk of a higher number of ED/UC visits.

“Different TSE measures uniquely increased the risk of TSE-related symptoms, but any TSE increased the risk of having a higher number of ED and/or UC visits. The providers at these high-volume settings should offer interventions to adolescents who are exposed to tobacco smoke and their families to decrease these symptoms and related morbidity.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Merianos AL, Jandarov RA, Mahabee-Gittens M. Adolescent tobacco smoke exposure, respiratory symptoms, and emergency department use [published online August 6, 2018]. Pediatrics. doi: 10.1542/peds.2018-0266