IJERPH, Vol. 14, Pages 1105: Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure at Home and High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Levels in Three-to-Five-Year-Old Children

IJERPH, Vol. 14, Pages 1105: Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure at Home and High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Levels in Three-to-Five-Year-Old Children

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph14101105

Authors: Eunkye Kang Soo Kim Seong Chang Sinye Lim Hwan-Cheol Kim Chul-Gab Lee Yu-Mi Kim Su Kim Kee-Jae Lee Suejin Kim Mina Ha

Exposure to harmful environmental factors is particularly detrimental to younger children. We investigated the relationship between environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure in pre-schoolers at home and the level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a predictive factor for cardiovascular disease. This study was conducted in 2014 and was based on the data of preschool children from the Korean Environmental Health Survey in Children and Adolescents (2012 to 2014), a nationally representative sample. Of 577 children, aged three to five years, 482 were eventually selected for the analysis after excluding those with missing variables, or whose hs-CRP level exceeded the reference value. The proportion of pre-school children exposed to ETS at home was 14.8%. The odd ratios (OR)s of hs-CRP > 1mg/L were 4.90 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.04–23.17) and 11.66 (95% CI = 1.90–71.65) in the groups exposed to ETS 3–4 times and ≥5 times daily, respectively, compared to the non-exposed group. The risk of elevated levels of hs-CRP showed an increasing trend proportionally to the increase in ETS exposure frequency (p for trend = 0.03). Anti-smoking educational programs for parents and guardians may be helpful to reduce ETS exposure at home.

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