The Health Consequences of Second-Hand Smoke Exposure on Asthma and Respiratory Health of School Children in Jordan

Abstract

This survey sought to measure the respiratory health effects and the prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure among school children. A sample of 370 parents selected from primary health care centres in Zarqa governorate, Jordan. International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire was used to gather the data. Descriptive statistics, Person correlation coefficient, and Pearson Chi-Square were used to analyse the data. The prevalence of "at home" exposure was 3.82 hours/day. The main location for exposure was at home (22.1%), with the homes of others (17.3%) and the in vehicle exposure (14.3%) being the next two most commonly cited indoor locations. A significant association was found between exposure to secondhand smoke at home, indoors-other, in vehicles, and in the restaurants and other recreational areas, and asthma and rhinitis symptoms. The number of rooms and people per room, parents' educational achievement were also associated with respiratory symptoms of children. These results shed light on the importance to protect children from the harm of smoking and to carry out home smoke free policy.

Correlating household second-hand smoke exposure and respiratory symptoms in school children

“…16 While in our study household second-hand smoke of both parents complies with their smoking habits in 56.2% cases, in the Jordanian study out of 77% parents with smoking habits, them 61% practice it at home. 17 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over half of all children aged 13-15 years are exposed to household ETS in the majority of countries, for which comparable information is available. In the Balkans and the Caucasus, exposure is beyond 90%.…”