The effect of parental smoking on presence of wheez or airway hyper-responsiveness in New South Wales school children.
OBJECTIVE
To assess accurately the effect of parental smoking on the respiratory health of New South Wales (NSW) school children, we obtained a large data set by pooling data from seven cross-sectional studies conducted in NSW between 1991 and 1993.


METHODS
A random sample of 6394 children age eight to 11 years was studied. Respiratory symptoms, family history of asthma and parental smoking history were measured by questionnaire, atopy by skin prick test and airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) by histamine inhalation test.


RESULTS
In total, 58.3% of children had at least one parent who smoked; 38.5% were exposed to maternal smoking. After adjusting for potential confounders, such as atopy, parental history of asthma and bronchitis in the first two years, children who were exposed to maternal smoking had a significantly increased risk of recent wheeze but not of AHR (odds ratios 1.33; 95% CI: 1.2-1.5 and 1.00; 95% CI: 0.9-1.2).


CONCLUSIONS
The positive association with wheeze and the lack of an association with AHR suggests that exposure to parental smoking leads to wheezing, but does not increase airway responsiveness.
Belousova
E G
EG
Institute of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, The University of Sydney, NSW. beg@mail.med.usyd.edu.au
Toelle
B G
BG
Xuan
W
W
Peat
J K
JK
D001985:Bronchial Provocation Tests; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006632:Histamine; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D010290:Parents; D015995:Prevalence; D012130:Respiratory Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012882:Skin Tests; D013147:Spirometry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D006632:Histamine