Determinants of passive smoking in children in Edinburgh, Scotland

M.J. Jarvis, D.P. Strachan and C. Feyerabend

American Journal of Public Health, 1992, vol. 82, issue 9, 1225-1229

Abstract: Objectives. Using saliva cotinine as a quantitative marker, we examined the contribution of factors other than parental smoking to children's passive exposure to tobacco smoke. Methods. Saliva specimens from a random sample of 734 7-year-old schoolchildren in Edinburgh, Scotland, were analyzed for cotinine. Their parents completed a questionnaire covering smoking habits and conditions in the home. Results. A number of independent predictors of cotinine were identified in addition to the main one of smoking by household members. These predictors included home ownership, social class, day of the week, season of the year, number of parents present, crowding in the home, the number of children in the household, and sex. Cotinine was higher in children from less advantaged backgrounds, during winter, on Mondays, in girls, and when fewer other children were present. The effects were similar between children from nonsmoking and smoking homes. Conclusions. Questionnaire measures of parental smoking are insufficient to fully characterize young children's exposure to passive smoking. Because socioeconomic variables contribute to measured exposure, passive-smoking studies that treat class as a confounder and control for it may be overcontrolling.

Date: 1992
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1992:82:9:1225-1229_3

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().