title: Secondhand smoke exposure among nonsmoking pregnant women in New York City.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure during pregnancy has detrimental effects on fetal health, little is known about levels of SHS in nonsmoking pregnant women. We examined disparities in SHS exposure among nonsmoking, ethnic minority pregnant women in New York City.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used self-reported smoking and serum cotinine collected from 244 pregnant women from the Bronx who self-identified as African American, Caribbean American, or Black Hispanic to examine smoking prevalence (>3 ng/ml) and, in an adjusted logistic regression model, risk factors for SHS (≥ 0.05 ng/ml and ≤ 3 ng/ml).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although only 4.1% of women self-reported they were smokers, 10.7% had serum cotinine levels indicating they were smokers. Among the 218 nonsmokers, 46.8% had serum cotinine levels indicating SHS exposure. Women at highest risk included those with less than a high school degree (66.7%) and those who were U.S.-born Black Hispanic (63.2%) or African American (63.0%). Women with more than 12 years of education were less likely to have detectable SHS exposure than women with fewer than 12 years (adjusted odds ratio 0.39, 95% CI = 0.17, 0.91). Compared with African American U.S.-born women, those who were African American foreign-born or Caribbean American and either U.S.-born or foreign-born were less likely to have detectable SHS exposure (all p ≤ .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nearly half of nonsmoking pregnant women in New York City had elevated cotinine levels despite living in a city with comprehensive tobacco control policies. Health professionals need to assess sources of SHS exposure during pregnancy and promote smoke-free environments to improve maternal and fetal health.
authors.affiliation: Boston College, Graduate School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, MA; summer.hawkins@bc.edu.
authors.forename: Summer S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hawkins
authors.affiliation: Boston College, William F. Connell School of Nursing, Chestnut Hill, MA;
authors.forename: Caitlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dacey
authors.affiliation: Boston College, William F. Connell School of Nursing, Chestnut Hill, MA;
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gennaro
authors.affiliation: Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx, NY;
authors.forename: Tayra
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Keshinover
authors.affiliation: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY;
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.affiliation: Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx, NY;
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gibeau
authors.affiliation: Boston College, William F. Connell School of Nursing, Chestnut Hill, MA;
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lulloff
authors.affiliation: New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, Albany, NY.
authors.forename: Kenneth M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Aldous
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003367:Cotinine / Q000097:blood; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D003367:Cotinine