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(Chest. 2001;120:711-717.)
© 2001 American College of Chest Physicians

Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure During Childhood Is Associated With Increased Prevalence of Asthma in Adults*

Matz L. Larsson, MD, FCCP; Margot Frisk; Jan Hallström, MD; Jaak Kiviloog, MD, PhD and Bo Lundbäck, MD, PhD

* From the Department of Lung Medicine (Drs. Larsson, Hallström, and Kiviloog), Örebro Medical Center Hospital, Örebro, Sweden; the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences (Ms. Frisk), Uppsala Universitet, Sweden; and the Respiratory Unit (Dr. Lundbäck) Department of Occupational Medicine, National Institute for Working Life, Stockholm, Sweden.

Correspondence to: Matz Larsson, MD, FCCP, Department of Lung Medicine, Örebro Medical Center Hospital, SE-701 85 Örebro, Sweden; e-mail: matz.larsson{at}orebroll.se


   Abstract
TOP
 Abstract
Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Objective: To examine if exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) during childhood has an impact on asthma prevalence in adults, and to identify the amount of nuisance from ETS and other lower airway irritants (LAWIs) in a city population.

Design: A postal survey.

Setting: The municipality of Örebro, Sweden.

Participants: A total of 8,008 randomly selected inhabitants aged 15 to 69 years.

Measurements: Exposures, airway symptoms, and respiratory history were assessed using a questionnaire.

Results: The response rate was 84%. In never-smokers with childhood ETS exposure, the prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma was 7.6% vs 5.9% in nonexposed subjects (p = 0.036). In never-smokers without a family history of asthma, the prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma in subjects reporting childhood ETS exposure was 6.8% vs 3.8% in nonexposed subjects (p < 0.001). Subjects with childhood ETS exposure were more likely to start smoking in adulthood. The prevalence of ever-smokers was 54.5% vs 33.8% (p < 0.0001) in nonexposed subjects. ETS was the most commonly reported LAWI in the total sample (21%), followed by exercise in cold air (20%), dust (19%), exercise (16%), perfume (15%), cold air (12%), pollen (10%), and pets (8%). All LAWIs were more frequently reported by women.

Conclusions: Childhood exposure to ETS is associated with an increased prevalence of asthma among adult never-smokers, especially in nonatopic subjects. Children exposed to ETS are also more likely to become smokers. ETS is as a major LAWI.

Key Words: asthma • environmental tobacco smoke • respiratory symptoms


   Introduction
TOP
 Abstract
 Introduction
Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
In spite of educational campaigns, stricter tobacco control laws, and a declining number of daily smokers in Sweden, which is currently approximately 20% of the adult population,1 environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is still a major health problem in workplaces, public areas, and many homes.

ETS is a risk factor for lung cancer2 and coronary heart disease.3 More than 3,800 different compounds, including nicotine, carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde, and acrolein, are produced from a burning cigarette.4 In a Danish study,5 55% of nonsmokers and 25% of smokers experienced discomfort when exposed passively to tobacco smoke, with severe discomfort reported by 9% of Danish men and 17% of women.

The eyes are the most common site for irritation, and the nose is the second most common site.6 For many subjects with asthma, short-term exposure to ETS is associated with respiratory symptoms,7 and it has also been reported to increase bronchial reactivity to histamine.8 The role of ETS as a subjective lower airway irritant (LAWI) in a general population, however, has not been well studied.

Children are more vulnerable to ETS than adults, since the respiratory and immune systems are not fully developed; additionally, children spend more time at home.9 Many studies10 11 12 have shown ETS to be associated with respiratory symptoms in children. The relative risk of asthma in children with smoking mothers has been reported to be 1.2 to 2.6.11 The pooled odds ratio (OR) for asthma prevalence from 14 case-control studies was 1.37 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15 to 1.64) if either parent smoked, and the association between parental smoking and asthma appeared to be stronger in nonatopic children.12 The available literature13 14 concerning childhood exposure for ETS and the rates of asthma later in life is limited and focused on young adults.

The aim of this study was to investigate if ETS exposure during childhood at home was associated with a higher prevalence of asthma and respiratory symptoms later in life. A second aim was to compare ETS with other environmental factors or circumstances with a known potential to cause breathing problems.


   Materials and Methods
TOP
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
Results
 Discussion
 References
 
This study was a part of the FinEsS studies: epidemiologic studies in Finland, Estonia, and Sweden on the prevalence of asthma, chronic bronchitis, COPD, type-1 allergy, respiratory symptoms, and risk factors for those conditions. This article is based on the Örebro portion of the study material. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Örebro County Council.

Study Area
The municipality of Örebro is a medium-sized city in the middle of Sweden, situated at low altitude and covering 1,360 square kilometers. The population was (in 1994) 118,606 inhabitants, with a population density of 87 per square kilometer. Approximately 87% of the population was living in an urban/suburban area. The mean January temperature is - 4.0°C, and the mean July temperature is 16.8°C. The annual mean temperature is 6.1°C. The main occupations are public services (78%) and industrial labor.

Study Population
From the population in Örebro (80,569 inhabitants aged 15 to 69 years), a random total sample of 8,008 individuals stratified on 10-year age bands and gender was selected. The study dimension was determined based on a predicted response rate of 75%, which would provide an 80% probability in every strata to detect a difference in prevalence between Örebro and Estonia of approximately 2 to 3%. We used the Örebro County Council population register, which updates its register at fortnightly intervals, to identify subjects.

Questionnaire
The questionnaire was developed from a revised version of The British Medical Research Council questionnaire15 and had been previously used in several Swedish studies.16 The postal questionnaire with an explanatory note, envelope, and a stamp was sent to the study sample during the winter from 1995 to 1996. In case there was no response, two reminders were sent to the subjects. The questionnaire included questions about respiratory symptoms and diseases, including recurrent wheeze, attacks of shortness of breath, long-standing cough, sputum production, asthma, allergic rhinitis, chronic bronchitis, use of antiasthmatic drugs, and symptoms in special circumstances and varying exposures. Furthermore, the questionnaire included questions about smoking habits, occupation, and family history of the above-mentioned diseases. Depending on special interest, an extra question about childhood exposure to ETS at home was added in the study in Örebro: "Do or did any of your parents/relatives smoke at home when you grew up?" All questions were answered with either "yes," or "no," not as far as I know."

Definitions
Ever-asthma was defined as a positive response to the question. "Have you ever had asthma?" Physician-diagnosed asthma was defined as a positive response to the question, "Have you been diagnosed as having asthma by a doctor?" Childhood exposure to ETS at home was defined as a positive response to the question, "Do or did any of your parents/relatives smoke at home when you grew up?" Childhood ETS exposure was used as an exposure variable.

LAWI
There were nine questions about factors and/or circumstances with a potential to cause LAWI: "Do you become breathless, wheeze, or have attacks of cough when exposed to (1) exercise; (2) cold air; (3) exercise in cold air; (4) dust; (5) tobacco smoke; (6) car exhaust fumes; (7) strong smells, eg, perfume, spices, printers ink; (8) pollen from plants and/or trees; (9) pets?" If a positive response was given, the factor and/or circumstance was defined as a LAWI. Ever-smokers were defined as active smokers or ex-smokers. Ex-smokers were defined as subjects who successfully had stopped smoking >= 12 months prior to the survey.

Statistical Analysis
Statistical analysis was performed using software (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences; SPSS; Chicago, IL). Fisher’s double-sided Exact Test was used for bivariate calculations. Risk factors for physician-diagnosed asthma among never-smokers without a family history of asthma were calculated by using multiple logistic regression analysis.


   Results
TOP
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
Discussion
 References
 
Participation and Smoking Habits
The response rate was 84% (n = 6,732). In addition, 3% (n = 243) returned a blank questionnaire, and these were not included in the analyses. Data for the smoking habits in the main sample are shown in Table 1 . There were 3,556 never-smokers (52.8%), 1,676 smokers (24.9%), and 1,257 ex-smokers (18.7%) in the total sample, and 243 subjects (3.6%) gave no answer about their smoking habits.


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  		Table 1. Smoking Habits in the Total Sample (n = 6,732)*

 
Childhood ETS Exposure and Smoking Habits Later in Life
Exposure to childhood ETS was most common among subjects aged 30 to 49 years (Fig 1 ). The part of the sample reporting childhood ETS exposure included significantly more ever-smokers, 54.5%, compared to 33.8% (p < 0.0001) among "nonexposed" subjects (Fig 2 ). The difference between exposed and nonexposed subjects was most clearly seen in the 15-year to 19-year age group, where the smoking prevalence was 36.9% vs 13.1%.



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  		Figure 1. Prevalence (percentage) of exposure for ETS at home during childhood in different age groups from the total sample.

 


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  		Figure 2. Exposure (exp) to ETS at home during childhood and the risk to become a smoker. Exposed subjects include smokers and ex-smokers.

 
Exposure to Childhood ETS and Risk for Asthma
Among the 3,556 never-smokers, 1,625 subjects (45.6%) had been exposed and 1,926 subjects (54.0%) had not been exposed to childhood ETS. The exposure rates for childhood ETS (related to the prevalence of asthma, wheezing, cough, attacks of shortness of breath, and other symptoms) in never-smoking subjects are shown in Table 2 . In subjects with childhood ETS exposure, almost all airway-related symptoms were more prevalent compared to nonexposed subjects.


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  		Table 2. Prevalence of Asthma and Other Conditions in Never-Smokers in Relation to ETS Exposure at Home During the Growing-Up Period

 
Childhood ETS exposure was a risk factor for physician-diagnosed asthma, with a prevalence of 7.6% in exposed subjects vs 5.8% in nonexposed subjects (p = 0.035). Data on never-smokers with or without a family history of asthma are shown in Table 3 . In never-smokers without a family history of asthma, the prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma in subjects reporting childhood ETS exposure was 6.8% vs 3.8% in nonexposed subjects (p < 0.001). Also, breathing difficulties during exercise, in cold air, and from tobacco smoke were more common if subjects had been exposed to childhood ETS (Table 3) . In never-smokers with a family history of asthma, no significant differences in prevalence of asthma, or breathing difficulties in special circumstances or due to different exposures were found (Table 3) . The difference in asthma prevalence between subjects exposed and not exposed to childhood ETS was more pronounced in the younger half of the population (Table 4 ).


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  		Table 3. Prevalence of Asthma and Other Conditions in Never-Smokers With and Without a Family History of Asthma in Relation to ETS Exposure at Home During the Growing-Up Period

 

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  		Table 4. Prevalence of Asthma Among Never-Smokers in Relation to ETS Exposure at Home During the Growing-Up Period When Dichotomized Into Age Classes 15 to 39 yr and 40 to 69 yr

 
Multivariate Relationships
Risk factors for physician-diagnosed asthma and symptoms in special circumstances among never-smokers without a family history of asthma were calculated by using multiple logistic regression analysis (Table 5 ). ETS was a significant risk factor for physician-diagnosed asthma (OR, 1.82), breathing difficulties at exercise (OR, 1.45), breathing difficulties from cigarette smoke (OR, 1.25), and breathing difficulties from pets (OR, 1.41). Breathing difficulties during exercise were significantly more common in younger persons. Physician-diagnosed asthma was significantly more common among manual workers in industry (OR, 1.97) and self-employees other than professionals (OR, 2.81).


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  		Table 5. Effects of Different Independent Variables on Prevalence of Physician-Diagnosed Asthma and Respiratory Symptoms in Never-Smokers Without a Family History of Asthma*

 
ETS and Other LAWIs
The proportion of subjects reporting ETS to be a LAWI is shown for the general population and for asthmatic subjects in Figure 3 . In the whole sample, 21% of the subjects reported ETS to be a LAWI. When excluding active smokers from the total sample, the frequencies for ETS and the second most frequent answer, exercise in cold air, were 22% vs 19%, respectively.



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  		Figure 3. Prevalence (percentage) of self-reported breathlessness, wheeze, or cough when exposed to different LAWIs.

 
Among asthmatic subjects, ETS was a common LAWI (50%), although it was less commonly reported than exercise in cold air (69%), dust (62%), exercise (58%), and cold air (55%). All LAWIs were more frequently reported by women. The prevalence rates were as follows: ETS (women, 24%; men, 18%), exercise in cold air (women, 22%; men, 19%), dust (women, 20%; men 18%), exercise (women, 17%; men, 15%), strong smells (women, 18%; men, 12%), cold air (women, 14%; men, 10%), car exhaust fumes (women, 13%; men, 9%), pollen (women, 11%; men, 10%), and pets (women, 9%; men, 7%).


   Discussion
TOP
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
References
 
Parental ETS has a strong association to childhood asthma.2 9 10 11 12 Our study showed that ETS exposure in childhood was also associated with a higher asthma prevalence in adult never-smokers. Especially in never-smokers without a family history of asthma, ETS exposure in childhood seems to be an important risk factor for asthma. This is in accordance with previous reports.12 The result for the reverse set of conditions, never-smokers with a family history of asthma, although not statistically significant, appears to differ from previous reports. We believe this could be explained by a sickness-related tendency for asthmatic parents to give up or never start smoking, and of course that asthma heredity is by far a more important risk factor than ETS exposure. There is no doubt that asthma heredity is a major risk factor for asthma, but this fact also provokes the question, What role does heredity play in asthmatic parents with asthma because of former childhood ETS exposure? And another question is posed, Could children exposed to ETS give their future child an increased risk of asthma?

During the 1950s and 1960s, smoking habits in Sweden reached a peak level. In 1963, approximately 50% of Swedish men and 25% of women were daily smokers. During last 3 decades, the prevalence of daily smokers has been reduced in Sweden, especially in men. The trend to reduce smoking habits in women started some years later than among men and progressed to a lesser extent, leading to a somewhat higher prevalence of smoking women than men nowadays.1 One possible conclusion is that the older cohorts have been relatively more exposed to paternal ETS and younger cohorts relatively more to maternal ETS, which is known to give more severe effects.12

The questionnaire that was employed provided only yes or no/do-not-know answers about ETS exposure during childhood at home. Therefore, we lack more detailed information about the nature and the duration of the childhood ETS exposure. If low-degree exposure was common in our exposed group, or if the unexposed group was widely exposed to ETS sources outside the home, the result would be an underestimation of the risk for ETS-associated asthma. We cannot exclude the possibility of reporting bias where asthmatics are more prone than nonasthmatics to report ETS exposure, which would give an overestimation of the risk. In any event, the ETS-associated risk for asthma in adults observed in our study is similar to that reported in many studies12 13 14 of childhood asthma.

The diagnosis of asthma was based on the question about physician-diagnosed asthma, and of course a single question may have some limitations. However, the question concerning physician-diagnosed asthma was the most valid measure of asthma if only one question was used in order to identify asthma.17 Our study clearly demonstrates the importance of collecting data about childhood ETS exposure in epidemiologic studies of asthma prevalence, where childhood exposure could otherwise be an important confounder. Further questions about whether or not the ETS exposure was maternal, paternal, or both may also be relevant.

Current and former smokers were excluded from the part of the study concerning childhood ETS exposure and asthma prevalence because the association between active smoking and asthma is uncertain in the current literature. This might partly be explained by a tendency for asthmatics to stop smoking.18 Secondly, a period of active smoking may be a confounder; for instance, smoking is associated with an increased sensitization against occupational allergens.19 In addition, active or former smoking could cause respiratory symptoms and deterioration in lung function of a magnitude that overshadows the effects of former ETS exposure. The difference in asthma prevalence between subjects exposed and nonexposed to childhood ETS was more pronounced in the younger half of the population. Asthma developing later in life may have other more important risk factors, such as environmental exposure in the workplace.20

Our study includes many cohorts growing up during periods when different attitudes and tolerance to tobacco prevailed. The importance of parental smoking as a predictor for children starting the smoking habit has been uncertain.21 In a review,22 parental smoking was a predictor in only half of the published prospective studies. In our study, the risk for an individual to take up the smoking habit was increased 60% if a smoking person was in the household during childhood. A similar pattern was seen in almost all age and gender groups, with one alarming exception seen in the youngest cohort. Nowadays, growing up in a "smoking family" increases the risk threefold of becoming a smoker! From our data, it is impossible to evaluate if this depends on social influence, low nicotine exposure during childhood, a combination of this, or something else. Regardless, this study indicates the importance of giving the children of smokers extra resources to prevent future tobacco dependence!

ETS and other LAWIs seem to be associated with more frequent airway problems in women. This gender difference may be caused by differences in perception, or there may be anatomic or physiologic reasons.23

Sweden has a low prevalence of daily smokers, nowadays 20% in the adult population,1 and there are some laws prohibiting smoking in public areas. In spite of this, ETS was the most commonly reported factor causing attacks of shortness of breath, wheezing, or attacks of cough in the general public. Such acute effects of ETS, together with our finding that childhood ETS exposure was associated with a higher asthma prevalence also in adults, clearly indicates the need for further campaigns and legislation against ETS.


   Acknowledgements
 
We thank Elsy Jönsson, Department of Occupational Health Medicine at National Institute for Working Life, Umeå, and Håkan Källmén, Stockholm, for valuable support with the statistical analyses; and Irene Eriksson, Department of Lung Medicine, Örebro, for help with the collection of data. We also thank David M. Mannino, National Center for Environmental Health, Atlanta, GA, for valuable comments.


   Footnotes
 
Abbreviations: CI = confidence interval; ETS = environmental tobacco smoke; LAWI = lower airway irritant; OR = odds ratio

Financial support was provided from The Cancer Fund, Sweden, and The Research Committee of Örebro County Council.

Received for publication May 23, 2000. Accepted for publication April 11, 2001.


   References
TOP
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 

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  7. . CollinsShepard, RJ, Silverman, F (1979) "Passive" exposure of asthmatic subjects to cigarette smoke Environ Res 20,392-402[Medline]
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