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Parental smoking: asthma and wheezing illnesses in infants and children

L I Landau1

  • 1Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.

Paediatric Respiratory Reviews
|June 8, 2002
PubMed

Insights

Parental smoking negatively impacts infant and child respiratory health, leading to impaired lung growth and increased wheezing illnesses. While not definitively linked to asthma prevalence, smoke exposure worsens asthma symptoms and lifelong respiratory outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Environmental Health
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Parental smoking is a significant environmental factor affecting children's respiratory health.
  • Exposure occurs both in utero and postnatally through environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).
  • Existing research indicates a link between parental smoking and respiratory issues in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the impact of parental smoking on asthma and wheezing illnesses in infants and children.
  • To investigate the effects of in utero and postnatal environmental tobacco smoke exposure.
  • To assess the relationship between parental smoking and asthma severity and prevalence.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on parental smoking and pediatric respiratory outcomes.
  • Analysis of studies focusing on in utero and postnatal environmental tobacco smoke exposure.
  • Evaluation of data on wheezing illnesses, lung growth, and asthma prevalence and severity.

Main Results:

  • In utero smoke exposure is linked to impaired lung growth and wheezing in preschool children.
  • Environmental tobacco smoke exposure increases wheezing illnesses and exacerbates asthma symptoms.
  • No consistent data confirms a link to asthma prevalence, but severity of symptoms is increased.

Conclusions:

  • Parental smoking detrimentally affects lung development in children.
  • Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke worsens respiratory conditions like asthma.
  • These early-life effects of parental smoking have long-term implications for lifelong respiratory health.

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