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Asthma Risk in Children Rises by Over Two Times When Mother Smokes

The chances of a child to suffer from asthma rises by 2.1 to 2.7 times if the mother is a smoker. The same translates to 1.2-1.9 times when the child has a father who smokes. In the study published in the current issue of Journal of Asthma, Dr Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Associate Professor, SMS Hospital, and author of the article said that the risk of asthma increases with passive smoking.

"The chances of having asthma increases by 2.1 to 2. 7 times when mother of the child was a smoker. However risk for getting asthma rises by 1.2-1.9 times when the child's father was a smoker," he said and termed it as an alarming finding.

The lead author, Dr Sheetu Singh, Assistant Professor, Institute of Respiratory Diseases, described that pollution and passive smoking cause asthma and the risk of developing the condition increases when traffic pollution level near the house is high. She said that when heavy vehicles pass by frequently or almost for the entire day near the residence, the risk of getting asthma increases from 1.2 to 1.7 times.

"The traffic pollution levels were also analyzed during the study period in the same cities and it was found that the PM10 levels (which indicate the number of particles with size below 10m) were higher than the permissible limit in all the 8 centers in which the national air quality surveillance was conducted," Singh said.

"India was a part of the study conducted in over 100 countries all across the world and Jaipur was one of the centers. The Indian data were recently analyzed and published in the Journal in which 93,016 children of two age groups (5-6 years and 13-14 years) participated," she said.

Describing the data as frightening, Dr Virendra Singh, President Indian Chest Society said that traffic pollution should be controlled by better public transport system, banning entry of heavy traffic in the city and removing truck and bus repair shops from residential localities.

"Children should not be exposed to cigarette smoke and awareness should be generated among parents that smoking in presence of children increases the risk of asthma," he said.

He also claimed that this was the first Indian study documenting increased risk of asthma when either parent was a smoker.