The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: The study was performed to evaluate the influence of family indoor smoking habits on respiratory symptoms in adolescents.

Methods: By using the standardized International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood methods, 800 adolescents were grouped in “cases” if they had any wheeze episode in the last year or in “control group” if adolescents were without wheeze in the same period of time. We considered as potential risk factors the current positive smoking habits of the family (father, mother, and other persons living at home) and the adolescent.

Results: Almost all responders answered that the father was currently smoking. Higher rate of mothers smoking was observed among cases [OR 2.42; 95%CI 1.60 to 3.68]. The number of adolescents who have ever smoked was more than 50% in cases versus approximately 40% in controls [ OR 1.89 (95%CI 1.33 to2.67)]. Sex-adjusted logistic regression analysis for wheezing only identified a” protective” role when the number of smokers at home was .2[OR 0.44, (95%CI 0.27 to 0.71)], which was coincidental to the increased risk for wheeze among adolescents when .3 persons living at home were smokers. Conclusion. Family indoor smoking habits as well as the number of persons smoking indoor are risk factors for wheezing among adolescents.