Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure at Home and High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Levels in Three-to-Five-Year-Old Children

Abstract

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.

Influence of Second-Hand Smoke and Prenatal Tobacco Smoke Exposure on Biomarkers, Genetics and Physiological Processes in Children—An Overview in Research Insights of the Last Few Years

“…Similar results were found in an exploration of 10-year-old children exposed to SHS [70]. High-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) values in serum were increased in three-to five-year-old SHS-exposed children in a dose-response manner [71]. Additionally, SHS exposure in early life could increase the risk of increased hsCRP levels in adulthood [72].…”

Prediction of lung cancer risk using circulating pro-surfactant protein B and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein among Egyptian workers in the rubber industry

“…Linear regression analysis concluded that duration of exposure to rubber manufacturing process could be considered a predicting factor for the elevated levels of HsCRP among rubber factory workers (Table 5). Likewise, a recent study suggested the cumulative effect of environmental tobacco smoke exposure on HsCRP level elevation among Korean preschoolers at home in a dose-response manner (Kang et al, 2017).…”

Development and validation of the Self-efficacy, Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Environmental Tobacco Smoke (SE-KAP-ETSQ) in the Malay language for mothers with children below 6 years old.

“…3 In Malaysia, data from the smoke. 7,8 In addition, the nature of children growing and developing bodies with immature immune systems make them very sensitive and vulnerable to the toxic substances of ETS smoke. 1,9 In children, ETS exposure was found to be associated with multiple morbidities that can potentially lead to mortality.…”