The impact of tobacco smoke exposure on wheezing and overweight in 4-6-year-old children.

AIM: To investigate the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy, second-hand tobacco smoke (STS) exposure, education level, and preschool children's wheezing and overweight.

METHODS

This cohort study used data of the KANC cohort--1,489 4-6-year-old children from Kaunas city, Lithuania. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to study the influence of prenatal and postnatal STS exposure on the prevalence of wheezing and overweight, controlling for potential confounders.

RESULTS

Children exposed to maternal smoking during pregnancy had a slightly increased prevalence of wheezing and overweight. Postnatal exposure to STS was associated with a statistically significantly increased risk of wheezing and overweight in children born to mothers with lower education levels (OR 2.12; 95% CI 1.04-4.35 and 3.57; 95% CI 1.76-7.21, accordingly).

CONCLUSIONS

The present study findings suggest that both maternal smoking during pregnancy and STS increase the risk of childhood wheezing and overweight, whereas lower maternal education might have a synergetic effect. Targeted interventions must to take this into account and address household smoking.