Ramírez Benítez Yaser, Díaz Bringas Miriela, Jiménez-Morales Rodneys Mauricio, Ngyah-Etchutambe Ijang Bih, Pagani Linda S
Centro Universitario Municipal Rodas, Universidad de Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos 59430, Cuba.
Centro de Rehabilitación del Neurodesarrollo de Cárdenas, Matanzas 42110, Cuba.
Toxics. 2025 Jan 17;13(1):62. doi: 10.3390/toxics13010062.
Secondhand smoke affects nearly 40% of children worldwide, leading to serious health and behavioral problems. Being neurotoxic, it poses potential risks for child health and learning. In Cuba, there is limited research on the association of secondhand smoke with children's brain health, especially in vulnerable populations like young children at home. The overall purpose of this study is two-fold. First, we determined the relationship between household smoke exposure and risks to brain health in Cuban children. Second, we analyzed the role of family environment factors, such as socio-economic status, in our estimates. Although this research represents the first investigation of its kind in Cuba, we expect to find evidence of neurotoxic associations with household smoke. We collected data between 2015 and 2018 using the medical records of 627 Cuban preschool children to explore the link between brain health indicators and exposure to tobacco smoke at home. We assessed archival reports on parental smoking, duration and frequency of exposure, and several indicators of brain health, including executive function, language development, sleep quality, and fluid intelligence. The findings indicate that exposure to tobacco smoke at home has a negative association with children's brain health, affecting both the cognitive (executive and linguistic functions) and non-cognitive aspects (sleep quality) of child development. Continuous exposure (five to seven times per week) and transient exposure (two to three times per week) were found to be more negatively related to sleep quality than in cognitive functions, particularly in children of middle socio-economic status. This highlights the need to implement parental information campaigns in Cuba.
二手烟影响着全球近40%的儿童，会导致严重的健康和行为问题。由于具有神经毒性，它对儿童健康和学习构成潜在风险。在古巴，关于二手烟与儿童大脑健康之间关联的研究有限，尤其是在像家中幼儿这样的弱势群体中。本研究的总体目的有两个。第一，我们确定了古巴儿童家庭烟雾暴露与大脑健康风险之间的关系。第二，我们分析了家庭环境因素，如社会经济地位，在我们的评估中的作用。尽管这项研究是古巴此类研究中的首次调查，但我们预计会找到与家庭烟雾存在神经毒性关联的证据。我们在2015年至2018年期间利用627名古巴学龄前儿童的病历收集数据，以探索大脑健康指标与在家接触烟草烟雾之间的联系。我们评估了关于父母吸烟情况、暴露的持续时间和频率以及大脑健康的几个指标的档案报告，这些指标包括执行功能、语言发展、睡眠质量和流体智力。研究结果表明，在家接触烟草烟雾与儿童大脑健康呈负相关，影响儿童发育的认知方面（执行和语言功能）和非认知方面（睡眠质量）。发现持续暴露（每周五至七次）和短暂暴露（每周两至三次）与睡眠质量的负相关比与认知功能的负相关更强，特别是在社会经济地位中等的儿童中。这凸显了在古巴开展家长宣传活动的必要性。
