Cantani A, Micera M
Department of Pediatrics, University "La Sapienza" - Rome (Italy).
Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2005 Jan-Feb;9(1):23-30.
Several studies have found that in children of smoking parents there is an increased incidence of respiratory illnesses and diminished pulmonary function. In infants of smoking atopic parents IgE levels are higher, atopic symptoms start earlier, and children are more likely to wheeze if the mother smokes than if she does not. Maternal smoking of 0.5 packs or more/day was identified as a risk for asthma developing in the 1st year of life. Among the environmental measures of our prevention program there is an absolute prohibition of smoking in the house of a "at risk" baby.
We have studied 289 atopic children, 169 males and 120 females, aged 3.5 to 7.5 years, attending our Division because affected by respiratory allergy. We have asked their parents if they smoked and if there were smoking relatives in their homes, independently of the number or the packs of cigarette smoked. The parents of 300 children comparable for age and sex visiting our outpatient clinic for non respiratory disease served as controls.
Smokers were 175 fathers and 109 mothers of the asthmatic children and 153 fathers and 89 mothers of the controls.
Analysis of data shows that passive smoking is significantly associated with the development of asthma in atopic children, and that males are more at risk than females. We stress that a high number of asthmatic children have atopic, and asthmatic parents. Cigarette smoke is not only a triggering factor of respiratory allergy in babies at risk of atopy, but especially an additional genetic factor, since asthma can be more easily provoked if an atopic parent smokes (more if both parents smoke), and even in children of not atopic, smoking parents.
多项研究发现，父母吸烟的儿童呼吸道疾病发病率增加，肺功能下降。父母为特应性体质且吸烟的婴儿，其免疫球蛋白E（IgE）水平更高，特应性症状出现更早，母亲吸烟的孩子比母亲不吸烟的孩子更易出现喘息。母亲每天吸烟半包或更多被确定为1岁儿童患哮喘的风险因素。在我们的预防计划的环境措施中，绝对禁止在“高危”婴儿家中吸烟。
我们研究了289名3.5至7.5岁的特应性儿童，其中169名男性和120名女性，因患呼吸道过敏症前来我科就诊。我们询问了他们的父母是否吸烟以及家中是否有吸烟的亲属，而不考虑吸烟的数量或包数。300名年龄和性别与之匹配、因非呼吸道疾病前来我们门诊就诊的儿童的父母作为对照。
哮喘儿童组中吸烟者为175名父亲和109名母亲，对照组中吸烟者为153名父亲和89名母亲。
数据分析表明，被动吸烟与特应性儿童哮喘的发生显著相关，且男性比女性风险更高。我们强调，大量哮喘儿童有特应性且父母患有哮喘。香烟烟雾不仅是有特应性风险婴儿呼吸道过敏的触发因素，尤其是一个额外的遗传因素，因为如果特应性父母吸烟（父母双方都吸烟时风险更高），哮喘更容易诱发，甚至在父母吸烟但无特应性的儿童中也是如此。
