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Tobacco use increases beta-agonist use, likelihood of developing asthma in pediatric patients

Parental smoking influences factors such as beta-agonist use and increased risk for developing asthma in pediatric patients, according to results from a recent study published in Chest.

“When the mother or stepmother who lives in the child's home is a tobacco smoker, the child’s history of asthma diagnosis and prescription for short acting beta-agonist medication are both increased. The increased emergency department visits for asthma associated with maternal smoking was only observed for the [Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP)] line of business, we believe this is because the requirement for a co-pay reduces the rates of minor illness presenting to the emergency department,” Harold J. Farber, MD, MSPH, associate professor of pediatrics, pulmonary section at Baylor College of Medicine and associate medical director of Texas Children’s Hospital, and colleagues wrote. “There are substantial ethnic disparities in maternal and household smoking rates. These results may assist program planners and clinicians in targeting tobacco dependence interventions for this important group of caregivers.”

Farber and colleagues analyzed new questions about asthma and tobacco exposure added to a Texas Children’s Health Plan annual survey from members with a physician visit, according to the abstract. A total of 22,470 parents with children aged 18 years or younger participated in the survey. Researchers matched the answers to claim data within 12 months of the physician visit.

The researchers found that 19.5% of non-Hispanic white parents reported they were a smoker compared with 9.1% of black parents and 2.3% of Hispanic parents, according to the abstract. Further, there was a greater use of beta-agonist medication for children with mothers who smoked (adjusted OR = 1.20; 95% CI, 1.03–1.40) as well as a higher risk for a parent-reported asthma diagnosis (adjusted OR = 1.24; 95% CI, 1.08–1.42). There was also a higher risk for emergency department visits, which was associated with maternal smoking (adjusted OR = 4.40; 95% CI, 1.69–11.44), the researchers noted. – by Jeff Craven

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.