Fumo dei genitori e disturbi respiratori infantili

The present study shows associations between parental smoking and
respiratory diseases in Italian children and adolescents participating
in SIDRIA-2. We studied associations (odds ratios, ORs, and
95% confidence intervals, 95% CI) between exposure to mother's
smoking father's smoking, both parents' smoking, and three categories
of cases: current asthma, current asthmatic symptoms, chronic
bronchitis. At least one parent smoker was associated with a greater
risk for asthmatic diseases compared to subjects not exposed. Our
findings are in agreement with other published studies' results on the
adverse effect of passive smoking on childhood respiratory health.
The proportion of families with at least one parent smoker is very
high (about 50%), confirming that measures aimed to reduce passive
smoking in the community, and particularly in all places where
children are present, are urgently needed in Italy.