In China, less than two percent of women smoke, but approximately 42 percent are exposed to secondhand smoke during pregnancy. A new study based in Shenzhen, China investigates the association of exposure to secondhand smoke among pregnant women and hyperactive behaviors in a child’s early life. Results are based on data from the Longhua Child Cohort Study (21,243 participants) and supplemental data collected through structured questionnaires.
Key Findings
- Maternal exposure to secondhand smoke is significantly associated with hyperactive behavior in young children.
- Risk of hyperactivity in children is higher with exposure to secondhand smoke in any trimester of pregnancy compared with no exposure.
- There is an association between level of secondhand smoke exposure and risk for hyperactive behavior
- A greater dose of secondhand smoke exposure (measured by daily exposure duration and daily cigarette consumption by household members, among other measures) is significantly associated with higher risk for hyperactivity behavior.
Key Messages
- Exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy can lead to an increased likelihood of hyperactivity in young children, disrupting academic progress and social relationships.
- Comprehensive smoke-free indoor environments including smoke-free homes, improve public health, particularly among vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women.
- Article 8 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control obligates Parties to enact and implement public policies that provide comprehensive protection from secondhand smoke exposure by banning smoking in all indoor public places, workplaces and public transportation without exceptions.
Full citation: Lin Q, Hou XY, Yin XN, et al. Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Hyperactivity Behavior in Chinese Young Children. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2017;14(10):1132.
Study abstract [English only] available from:
https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezp.welch.jhmi.edu/pmc/articles/PMC5664633/
Additional Resources:
- For fact sheets on smoke-free laws [Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish Russian], please see: https://www.global.tobaccofreekids.org/what-we-do/global/smoke-free-laws
- For the guidelines on implementing WHO FCTC Article 8 [Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Russia], please see: http://www.who.int/fctc/cop/art%208%20guidelines_english.pdf
The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an interdisciplinary, open access journal published monthly online by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, an peer-review, academic open-access publisher.
If you have questions about the study or how you may use it in your advocacy efforts, please contact globalresearch@tobaccofreekids.org