Cheng Menghan, Zhang Miao, Fang Wen, Qin Hong, Pan Yue, Chen Shengyi, Cao Guiqi, Zhang Yao, Lu Yu
Center for Environment and Health in Water Source Area of South-to-North Water Diversion, School of Public Health, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei, China.
Front Public Health. 2025 Jul 17;13:1600196. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1600196. eCollection 2025.
There is limited epidemiological evidence on the association between secondhand smoke exposure and growth and developmental problems in children and adolescents. This study aimed to explore the relationship between urinary levels of nicotine, cotinine, and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine and physical health outcomes in Chinese children.
This cross-sectional study included 491 children aged 8 to 12 years from a primary school in 2023. Socio-demographic characteristics and lifestyle factors, including household routines and caregiver smoking status, were collected through a structured questionnaire. This information was subsequently analyzed to investigate correlations between urinary tobacco metabolite concentrations and physical health outcomes in children. Generalized linear regression models were applied to evaluate the relationships between urinary levels of nicotine, cotinine, and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine and key physical health indicators.
Among the 491 children, 168 were classified as overweight or obese, 134 had hypertension, 17 showed abnormal spirometry results, and 394 had low vision. The median urinary concentrations of nicotine, cotinine, and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine were 4.70 ng/mL, 3.91 ng/mL, and 5.33 ng/mL, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, urinary nicotine levels were positively associated with weight, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and waist circumference. No significant associations were observed between urinary cotinine or trans-3'-hydroxycotinine levels and physical health indicators.
Urinary nicotine levels were positively associated with weight, BMI, systolic blood pressure, and waist circumference. In contrast, no significant associations were found between urinary cotinine or trans-3'-hydroxycotinine levels and physical health indicators. These findings suggest that further longitudinal cohort studies are warranted to evaluate the potential of urinary cotinine and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine as reliable biomarkers for assessing and monitoring the physical health status of primary school children.
关于二手烟暴露与儿童及青少年生长发育问题之间关联的流行病学证据有限。本研究旨在探讨中国儿童尿液中尼古丁、可替宁和反式-3'-羟基可替宁水平与身体健康状况之间的关系。
这项横断面研究纳入了2023年来自一所小学的491名8至12岁儿童。通过结构化问卷收集社会人口学特征和生活方式因素，包括家庭日常活动和照顾者吸烟状况。随后对这些信息进行分析，以研究儿童尿液中烟草代谢物浓度与身体健康状况之间的相关性。应用广义线性回归模型评估尿液中尼古丁、可替宁和反式-3'-羟基可替宁水平与关键身体健康指标之间的关系。
在491名儿童中，168名被归类为超重或肥胖，134名患有高血压，17名肺活量测定结果异常，394名视力低下。尿液中尼古丁、可替宁和反式-3'-羟基可替宁的中位数浓度分别为4.70 ng/mL、3.91 ng/mL和5.33 ng/mL。在调整潜在混杂因素后，尿液尼古丁水平与体重、体重指数（BMI）、收缩压（SBP）和腰围呈正相关。未观察到尿液可替宁或反式-3'-羟基可替宁水平与身体健康指标之间存在显著关联。
尿液尼古丁水平与体重、BMI、收缩压和腰围呈正相关。相比之下，未发现尿液可替宁或反式-3'-羟基可替宁水平与身体健康指标之间存在显著关联。这些发现表明，有必要进行进一步的纵向队列研究，以评估尿液可替宁和反式-3'-羟基可替宁作为评估和监测小学生身体健康状况可靠生物标志物的潜力。
