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Predictors of children's secondhand smoke exposure at home: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the evidence

Orton, Sophie; Jones, Laura L.; Cooper, Sue; Lewis, Sarah; Coleman, Tim

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Authors

SOPHIE ORTON SOPHIE.ORTON@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Senior Research Fellow

Laura L. Jones

Sue Cooper

TIM COLEMAN tim.coleman@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Primary Care



Abstract

BACKGROUND: Children's exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) has been causally linked to a number of childhood morbidities and mortalities. Over 50% of UK children whose parents are smokers are regularly exposed to SHS at home. No previous review has identified the factors associated with children's SHS exposure in the home.


AIM: To identify by systematic review, the factors which are associated with children's SHS exposure in the home, determined by parent or child reports and/or biochemically validated measures including cotinine, carbon monoxide or home air particulate matter.


METHODS: Electronic searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINAHL and Web of Knowledge to July 2014, and hand searches of reference lists from publications included in the review were conducted.


FINDINGS: Forty one studies were included in the review. Parental smoking, low socioeconomic status and being less educated were all frequently and consistently found to be independently associated with children's SHS exposure in the home. Children whose parents held more negative attitudes towards SHS were less likely to be exposed. Associations were strongest for parental cigarette smoking status; compared to children of non-smokers, those whose mothers or both parents smoked were between two and 13 times more likely to be exposed to SHS.


CONCLUSION: Multiple factors are associated with child SHS exposure in the home; the best way to reduce child SHS exposure in the home is for smoking parents to quit. If parents are unable or unwilling to stop smoking, they should instigate smoke-free homes. Interventions targeted towards the socially disadvantaged parents aiming to change attitudes to smoking in the presence of children and providing practical support to help parents smoke outside the home may be beneficial.

Citation

Orton, S., Jones, L. L., Cooper, S., Lewis, S., & Coleman, T. (2014). Predictors of children's secondhand smoke exposure at home: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the evidence. PLoS ONE, 9(11), Article e112690. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0112690

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Nov 14, 2014
Deposit Date Sep 9, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal PLoS ONE
Electronic ISSN 1932-6203
Publisher Public Library of Science
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 9
Issue 11
Article Number e112690
DOI https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0112690
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/739684
Publisher URL http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0112690

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