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Asthma diagnosis in a child and cessation of smoking in the child’s home: the PIAMA birth cohort

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 27, pages 521–525 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Second hand smoke (SHS) exposure is associated with increased incidence and severity of childhood asthma. We investigated whether, in turn, asthma diagnosis in a child is associated with cessation of smoking exposure in the child’s home. In the PIAMA birth cohort (n=3963), parents reported on smoking in their home and on asthma diagnosis in their child, annually from birth to 8 years. We used generalized estimating equations to assess the association between asthma diagnosis in a child and cessation of smoking in the child’s home. Among children with residential SHS exposure, smoking stopped in 23.7% of the homes of children with newly diagnosed asthma as compared with 16.2% of the homes of children without asthma diagnosis (P=0.014). For children with an asthma diagnosis, the relative risk of smoking cessation in their home was 1.36 (one-sided 95% confidence interval: 1.09, inf.) and changed little after adjustment for maternal education, parental allergy and child’s age. In most smokers’ households (76.3%), smoking continued when the child got an asthma diagnosis. Nevertheless, an asthma diagnosis in the child increased the probability of a smoke-free home for the child and its parents and siblings. Cross-sectional associations between SHS exposure and asthma may underestimate true associations, because exposure may have been reduced following diagnosis of the disease.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all families participating in the PIAMA birth cohort. The PIAMA study has been supported with project grants by The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development; The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research; The Netherlands Asthma Fund; The Netherlands Ministry of Spatial Planning, Housing, and the Environment; and The Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Nutrition, Prevention, and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands

    Alet H Wijga & Maarten Schipper

  2. Division of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Bert Brunekreef & Ulrike Gehring

  3. Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Pediatric Allergology, UMCG, GRIAC Research Institute, Beatrix Children's Hospital, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Gerard H Koppelman

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  1. Alet H Wijga
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  2. Maarten Schipper
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Correspondence to Alet H Wijga.

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Wijga, A., Schipper, M., Brunekreef, B. et al. Asthma diagnosis in a child and cessation of smoking in the child’s home: the PIAMA birth cohort. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 27, 521–525 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2016.75

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