Association Between Place of Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Depression Among Nonsmoking Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure patterns of children and adolescents are different from those of adults because children and adolescents spend a majority of their time in the home and school. It was aimed to conduct a systematic review of the published literature regarding the association between depression and the place of SHS exposure among children and adolescents. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane Library databases were used for the literature review. The studies were screened and selected by two independent reviewers based on the inclusion criteria. All eight studies included in the systematic review measured SHS exposure in participants’ own homes. Two studies measured SHS exposure at school and one study in cars. The majority of the studies showed a positive association between depression and SHS exposure in both private and public places among nonsmoking children and adolescents. Also, they concluded a dose-response relationship between SHS exposure and depression. Health practitioners would be encouraged to work with stakeholders to create smoke-free policies in both private and public places to avoid the adverse effects of SHS exposure.

Decrease in household secondhand smoking among South Korean adolescents associated with smoke-free policies: grade-period-cohort and interrupted time series analyses

“…17 Adolescents are more receptive to social norms than adults 19 but are exposed to SHS in areas such as their houses, cars, schools, and public places. 20 Public places, including schools, can be directly regulated by designating smoke-free areas, whereas houses are difficult to regulate because they are private spaces. 21 However, designating smoke-free areas in public places could promote smoke-free homes by shifting social norms related to the risk of SHS exposure.…”

“…Y: grade-standardized prevalence of household SHS exposure among adolescents; time: period (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15) and cohort (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20); policy: 0,1; time since policy: time in years after policy implementation; ε: error term.…”

“…Cohort effects can be used to detect changes in social norms, and trends (such as smoking prevalence) should be studied in the context of cohorts that share generational values [ 16 ]. Adolescents are more receptive to social pressures than adults [ 18 ] but are exposed to SHS in areas such as their houses, cars, schools, and public places [ 19 ]. Public places, including schools, can be directly regulated by designating smoke-free areas, whereas houses are difficult to regulate because they are private spaces [ 20 ].…”