Columbus Children's Hospital Releases Study Findings that Demonstrate the Impact of Environmental Tobacco Smoke on Infants and Young Children

Infants of smokers are more likely to be afflicted with respiratory illness and wheezing, leading to hospitalization

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A clinical study on the impact of environmental (second hand) tobacco smoke on the pulmonary function of infants and young children was presented at the 2000 Pediatric Academic Societies and American Academy of Pediatrics Joint Meeting Tuesday, May 16. Children's pulmonologist and researcher Robert Castile, M.D., presented the study findings that concluded children less than three years of age who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke have significantly lower airway function than non-exposed children.

"It has been known for more than 20 years that children of smokers, particularly those of smoking mothers, have increased frequencies of almost all types of respiratory problems," explained Dr. Castile. "In the current study, a new type of infant pulmonary function testing device was used that permits the measurement of standard adult type pulmonary function testing. This enabled us to better define the impact of second hand smoke exposure on the pulmonary function of infants."

Specifically, the study concluded that forced air flows were reduced in the environmental tobacco smoke-exposed infants (the airways of exposed infants were smaller than those of unexposed infants.) Lung volumes, the size of the exposed infants' lungs, were not affected. According to Castile, this may explain why infants of smokers are more likely to be afflicted with respiratory illnesses and to wheeze with colds.

"The children of smokers have normal lung size, but their airway tubes are smaller," added Castile. "This affects how fast they can move air in and out of their lungs, makes them more vulnerable to respiratory problems and more likely to end up hospitalized with viral lower respiratory illnesses such as RSV bronchiolitos and pneumonia."

The study involved normal infants less than three years of age with no history of respiratory disease and who were greater than 35 weeks gestation at birth. The infants were recruited from primary care clinics and by hospital personnel. Environmental tobacco smoke exposure was assessed using questionnaires. Pulmonary function tests were measured on 80 children. The mothers of 26 children smoked during pregnancy while 29 children lived with a primary caregiver who smoked. Mild volume flows (airway function) were reduced by about 15 to 20 percent in infants born of smoking mothers, as compared to infants of mothers who did not smoke.

Children's Hospital of Columbus, Ohio, a 108-year-old institution devoted to the health of children, is among the top 10 free-standing children's hospitals in the country that receives NIH funding for research. Physicians and scientists at Children's are actively engaged in basic, applied, and patient-oriented research in a wide range of disciplines. In serving central Ohio and surrounding states, Children's Hospital has more than 400,000 patient visits a year, from birth through age 21. Children's offers specialty programs and services, including more than 18 support groups and 300 public education classes. As a tertiary teaching hospital affiliated with The Ohio State University, Children's also serves as the training ground for hundreds of pediatric healthcare providers each year.

CONTACT: More information on Children's Hospital of Columbus is available by calling (614) 722-KIDS (5437) or through the hospital's Web site at http://www.childrenscolumbus.org.

May 16, 2000