What The Papers Say: Tobacco exposure before and after birth increases childhood allergies

A large new study evaluated the risk if prenatal and postnatal tobaccos smoke exposure for asthma, rhinitis (inflammation of nasal membranes), and eczema (skin rash). The study was published online on August 18 in the journal Pediatrics by Swedish researchers.

The study group comprised 4,089 children who were followed from birth to age 16 years. Information on parental smoking habits, lifestyle factors, and symptoms of allergic disease was collected via repeated parental questionnaires. The investigators used generalized estimating equations to determine the overall and age-specific associations between second hand smoke exposure and allergic disease at ages 1 to 16 years.

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