title: Asthma and tobacco: double trouble for Wisconsin adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure has been identified as a cause of asthma and a trigger of asthma attacks in children. We examined the relation of demographic and tobacco-related risk factors to both lifetime asthma diagnosis and the asthma attack rate among Wisconsin adolescents. The impact of asthma on adolescent school absenteeism was also examined.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data used were from the 2004 Wisconsin Youth Tobacco Survey (n=3125), which was administered in a sample of Wisconsin public middle and high schools. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine risk factors simultaneously.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Self-reported lifetime asthma prevalence was 19% among Wisconsin adolescents. Thirty-five percent of adolescents with asthma reported having an asthma attack in the past 12 months. Living with a smoker was a significant predictor of lifetime asthma diagnosis and, among adolescents with asthma, daily ETS exposure was associated with a 2-fold increased risk of having an asthma attack. Being diagnosed with asthma did not deter adolescents from smoking and was a significant predictor of school absenteeism.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Asthma is an important health problem for Wisconsin adolescents. Tobacco-related risk factors contribute to the burden of the disease. Interventions to reduce smoking and ETS exposure targeted to adolescents and their guardians are needed. Better asthma control among adolescents could reduce school absenteeism.
authors.affiliation: Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health, Division of Public Health, Department of Health and Family Services, Madison, WI 53701-2659, USA. navonl@dhfs.state.wi.us
authors.forename: Livia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Navon
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014922:Wisconsin / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution