Characteristic Factors Affecting Oral Pigmentation in Passive Smoker Children.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Smoking affects not only smokers themselves, but also the people around them. 700 million children are exposed to second hand tobacco worldwide. One of the adverse effects of being a passive smoker is oral pigmentation.

PURPOSE

This study was conducted to evaluate the association between smoking of a parent at home and oral pigmentation in children, and the characteristic factors affecting that.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

In this retrospective cohort study, 140 healthy children aged 4 to 10 (mean age= 6.68±1.60), 70 with smoker parent and 70 without smoker parents, were examined for oral pigmentation. Environmental factors were evaluated by asking the parents to fill a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Logistic regression, and Spearman scale.

RESULTS

There was a meaningful relationship between having a smoker parent and oral pigmentation (= 0.0001). Spearman's correlation showed parents' duration of cigarette smoking and the number of cigarettes per day could meaningfully affect the severity of oral pigmentation (R=0.329). The study did not find a statistical relationship between oral pigmentation in passive smoking and gender or house area.

CONCLUSION

Children exposed to secondhand tobacco are at more risk for oral pigmentation. Its severity depends on duration of cigarette smoking and the number of cigarettes per day.