Preliminary evidence that high levels of nicotine on children’s hands may contribute to overall tobacco smoke exposure

BackgroundDust and surfaces are important sources of lead and pesticide exposure in young children. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate if third-hand smoke (THS) pollutants accumulate on the hands of children who live in environments where tobacco is used and if hand nicotine levels are associated with second-hand smoke (SHS), as measured by salivary cotinine.MethodsParticipants were parents and children (n=25; age mean (SD)=5.4 (5.3) years) presenting to the emergency department with a potentially SHS-related illness. A convenience sample of participants were recruited at baseline from an ongoing two-group, randomised controlled trial of a SHS reduction and tobacco cessation intervention. Parents were current smokers; thus, all children were at risk of SHS and THS exposure to varying extents. Primary outcome measures, which were assessed in child participants only, were hand nicotine and salivary cotinine. Parents reported sociodemographics and smoking patterns; children’s medical records were abstracted for chief complaint, medical history and discharge diagnosis.ResultsAll children had detectable hand nicotine (range=18.3–690.9 ng/wipe). All but one had detectable cotinine (range=1.2–28.8 ng/mL). Multiple linear regression results showed a significant positive association between hand nicotine and cotinine (p=0.009; semipartial r2=0.24), independent of child age.DiscussionThe higher-than-expected nicotine levels and significant association with cotinine indicate that THS may play a role in the overall exposure of young children to tobacco smoke toxicants and that hand wipes could be a useful marker of overall tobacco smoke pollution and a proxy for exposure.Trial registration numberClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02531594

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Recent Developments in the Determination of Biomarkers of Tobacco Smoke Exposure in Biological Specimens: A Review

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18041768 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 1768

Author(s):

Hernâni Marques ◽

Pedro Cruz-Vicente ◽

Tiago Rosado ◽

Mário Barroso ◽

Luís A. Passarinha ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tobacco Smoke ◽

Solid Phase ◽

Smoke Exposure ◽

Tobacco Smoke Exposure ◽

World Health ◽

Second Hand Smoke ◽

Tobacco Exposure ◽

Wide Range ◽

Recent Developments

Environmental tobacco smoke exposure (ETS) and smoking have been described as the most prevalent factors in the development of certain diseases worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, more than 8 million people die every year due to exposure to tobacco, around 7 million due to direct ETS and the remaining due to exposure to second-hand smoke. Both active and second-hand exposure can be measured and controlled using specific biomarkers of tobacco and its derivatives, allowing the development of more efficient public health policies. Exposure to these compounds can be measured using different methods (involving for instance liquid- or gas-chromatographic procedures) in a wide range of biological specimens to estimate the type and degree of tobacco exposure. In recent years, a lot of research has been carried out using different extraction methods and different analytical equipment; this way, liquid–liquid extraction, solid-phase extraction or even miniaturized procedures have been used, followed by chromatographic analysis coupled mainly to mass spectrometric detection. Through this type of methodologies, second-hand smokers can be distinguished from active smokers, and this is also valid for e-cigarettes and vapers, among others, using their specific biomarkers. This review will focus on recent developments in the determination of tobacco smoke biomarkers, including nicotine and other tobacco alkaloids, specific nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, etc. The methods for their detection will be discussed in detail, as well as the potential use of threshold values to distinguish between types of exposure.

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Family Attitudes About Tobacco Smoke Exposure of Young Children at Home

MCN The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing ◽

10.1097/01.nmc.0000269568.17432.72 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 178-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Yvonne Yousey

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

Tobacco Smoke ◽

Smoke Exposure ◽

Tobacco Smoke Exposure ◽

Family Attitudes ◽

At Home

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Comparison of Levels of Three Tobacco Smoke Exposure Biomarkers in Children of Smokers

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182211803 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (22) ◽

pp. 11803

Author(s):

E. Melinda Mahabee-Gittens ◽

Georg E. Matt ◽

Lili Ding ◽

Ashley L. Merianos

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Tobacco Smoke ◽

Smoke Exposure ◽

Tobacco Smoke Exposure ◽

Smoking Bans ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Targeted Interventions ◽

Exposure Biomarkers ◽

Lower Education ◽

Pearson Correlations

Objectives: Cotinine, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL), and N-oxides are biomarkers of tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) used to assess short- and longer-term TSE. The objective of this study was to assess the associations between these TSE biomarkers, sociodemographics, parental smoking, and child TSE patterns among 0–17-year-olds. Methods: A convenience sample of 179 pediatric patients (mean (SD) age = 7.9 (4.3) years) who lived with ≥1 smoker and who had parental assessments completed and urine samples analyzed for the three TSE biomarkers of interest were included. Biomarker levels were log-transformed, univariate regression models were built and Pearson correlations were assessed. Results: In total, 100% of children had detectable levels of cotinine and >96% had detectable NNAL and N-oxide levels. The geometric means of cotinine, NNAL, and N-oxide levels were 10.1 ng/mL, 25.3 pg/mL, and 22.9 pg/mL, respectively. The mean (SD) number of daily cigarettes smoked by parents was 10.6 (6.0) cigarettes. Child age negatively correlated with urinary cotinine (r = −0.202, p = 0.007) and log NNAL levels (r = −0.275, p < 0.001). The highest log-cotinine levels were in children who were younger, of African American race, and whose parents had a lower education, an annual income ≤USD15,000, and no smoking bans. The highest log-NNAL and N-oxide levels were in children whose parents had a lower education, had no smoking bans, and were around higher numbers of cigarettes. Conclusion: Children of smokers who were younger, African American, and had no smoking bans had the highest TSE biomarker levels. Targeted interventions are needed to reduce TSE levels among high-risk children.

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Birth order is associated with caries development in young children: a register-based cohort study

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-020-8234-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

A. Julihn ◽

F. C. Soares ◽

U. Hammarfjord ◽

A. Hjern ◽

G. Dahllöf

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Dental Caries ◽

Young Children ◽

Birth Order ◽

Positive Association ◽

Outcome Variable ◽

Study Cohort ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Born Child ◽

Caries Increment

Abstract Background Birth order has been shown to affect the health of the child; less is known, however, about how birth order affects caries development in children. Thus, the present study investigated the association between birth order and dental caries development in young children. Methods This retrospective registry-based cohort study included all children born in 2000–2003 who were residing in Stockholm County, Sweden, at age 3 years (n = 83,147). The study followed the cohort until subjects reached 7 years of age. Children with registry data on dental examinations and sociodemographic characteristics at ages 3- and 7 years constituted the final study cohort (n = 65,259). The outcome variable was “caries increment from age 3- to 7 years” (Δdeft > 0) and the key exposure, “birth order”, was divided into five groups. A forward stepwise logistic binary regression was done for the multivariate analysis with adjustments for sociodemographic factors. Results At age 3 years, 94% had no fillings or manifest caries lesions. During the study period, 22.5% (n = 14,711) developed dental caries. The final logistic regression analysis found a statistically significant positive association between birth order and caries increment. Further, excess risk increased with higher birth order; with the mother’s first-born child as reference, risk for the second-born child was OR 1.17, 95% CI = 1.12–1.23; for the third-born child, OR 1.47, 95% CI = 1.38–1.56; for the fourth-born child, OR 1.69, 95% CI = 1.52–1.88; and for the fifth-born or higher birth-order child, OR 1.84, 95% CI = 1.58–2.14. Conclusions These findings show that birth order influences caries development in siblings, suggesting that birth order can be regarded as a predictor for caries development in young children. This factor may be helpful in assessing caries risk in preschool children and should be considered in caries prevention work in young children with older siblings.

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Household environmental tobacco smoke exposure in healthy young children in Hong Kong: Prevalence and risk factors

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0227733 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. e0227733

Author(s):

Siyu Dai ◽

Kate Ching Ching Chan

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Young Children ◽

Environmental Tobacco Smoke ◽

Tobacco Smoke ◽

Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure ◽

Smoke Exposure ◽

Tobacco Smoke Exposure

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Breastfeeding exposure is associated with better knowledge of and attitudes toward BF in Kuwaiti women

BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health ◽

10.1136/bmjnph-2019-000027 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 100-109

Author(s):

Dalal Usamah Alkazemi ◽

Roberts Jackson

Keyword(s):

Positive Association ◽

Sociodemographic Factors ◽

Family Values ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Kuwait University ◽

Knowledge And Attitudes ◽

The Relationship ◽

Breast Fed

ObjectivesBreastfeeding (BF) has many benefits for both infants and mothers. However, despite evidence in support of BF, its prevalence has remained low in Kuwait. The purpose of this study was to (1) assess and describe BF attitudes and knowledge among women at a college campus; (2) evaluate BF exposures and sociodemographic factors associated with attitudes toward BF; (3) determine the association between BF knowledge and attitudes.Materials and methodsThis survey was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted from February to April 2016. A convenience sample of 330 women (students, faculty and staff) from the College of Life Sciences (CLS) at Kuwait University participated in the survey.ResultsMost of the participants respected women who breast fed (81.8%). Some participants believed that BF a baby is painful (43.3%), makes the breasts sag (35.8%), and restricts the mothers’ freedom (51.5%). Additionally, 47.6% of the participants reported that they would feel embarrassed if they saw a woman BF her baby. Acceptability of BF in public was low and most participants preferred BF only around friends and family (52.4%). A statistically significant positive association was observed between BF knowledge and attitudes (R2=6.5%, p<0.001); however, the relationship was not independent and was also associated with nationality and having been breast fed as a baby (R2=10.3%, p=0.021).ConclusionBF knowledge is important to encourage positive BF attitudes, and both are enforced with family values and practice across generations.

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