title: Influence of asthma on the validity of reported lifelong environmental tobacco smoke in the EGEA study.
abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the short-term reproducibility and the validity of reported ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) exposure, with a special emphasis on the potential misclassification related to personal or family history of asthma. Analyses were based on the data on the Epidemiological study on the Genetics and Environment of Asthma, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and atopy (EGEA), a case-control study of asthma that included first degree relatives of asthmatic cases. The study was comprised of 348 families of asthmatics recruited in six chest clinics throughout France and 416 population-based controls. For studying the validity of ETS reports, personal active smoking histories reported by family members were taken as reference. The reproducibility of ETS exposure report was good, and independent of asthma. The validity of the report of maternal and paternal smoking in childhood and spouse smoking during life was high (overall agreement > or = 84%). Mothers of asthmatic children significantly underreported their smoking habits when questioned on their children's passive tobacco exposure. Offspring of parents who had stopped smoking underestimated their ETS exposure in childhood. In conclusion, interviews with mothers on their personal active smoking habits may provide a more accurate estimate of their asthmatic child's passive exposure than asking mothers specifically about their children's passive exposure. There was no indication that asthma status (either of the parent/spouse or of the respondent) by itself influences the report of ETS exposure during childhood or adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology and Biostatistics, INSERM U472-IFR69, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Siroux
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guilbert
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Le Moual
authors.forename: Marie-Pierre
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Oryszczyn
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kauffmann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015982:Bias; D016535:Bronchial Hyperreactivity; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology; D018454:Spouses; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution