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Passive exposure to tobacco smoke and bacterial meningitis in children
Author(s) -
Iles K,
Poplawski NK,
Couper RTL
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1754.2001.00698.x
Subject(s) - medicine , meningitis , passive smoking , odds ratio , confidence interval , exact test , incidence (geometry) , tobacco smoke , pediatrics , haemophilus influenzae , population , demography , environmental health , physics , biology , bacteria , optics , genetics , sociology
Objective : To determine whether an association exists between passive exposure to tobacco smoke and bacterial meningitis in childhood, in an Australian population. Methodology : A retrospective, case‐controlled telephone survey of the parents of 71 children admitted to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide, with bacterial meningitis between 1990 and 1999. Results : The annual incidence of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) meningitis decreased significantly during the study period (11.0 cases per year 1991–;93 and 1.5 cases per year 1994–;99, Fisher’s exact test; P < 0.001) whilst pneumococcal cases significantly increased (2.3 cases per year 1991–;93 and 4.9 cases per year 1994–;99, Fisher’s exact test; P < 0.001). Although comparable numbers of cases and controls came from smoking families (41% vs 45%), more cases came from bi‐parental smoking households (17% vs 8%; odds ratio (OR) = 2.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.77–;6.24) and cases were more likely to live in households where parents smoked inside (27% vs 13%; OR 2.51, 95% CI 1.05–;6.03). In households where parents smoked, children who had had meningitis were significantly more likely to have parents who smoked inside the house, than children who had not had meningitis (66% vs 28%, Fisher’s exact test; P = 0.005). Conclusion : This study suggests there may be an association between high levels of passive exposure to tobacco smoke and bacterial meningitis in Australian children. A study with larger numbers of affected children which quantifies passive exposure to tobacco smoke is needed to determine the strength of this association.