The Effect of Passive Smoking on Pulmonary Function and Nonspecific Bronchial Responsiveness in a Population-based Sample of Children and Young Adults1–4

Abstract

Recent scientific investigations have observed adverse effects of parental cigarette smoking on level of pulmonary function and rate of change of pulmonary function in children. Whether passive smoking is an independent risk factor for these outcomes in children or whether the effects of passive smoking result from associations with other putative risk factors, such as respiratory infections or the occurrence of the atopic state remains unclear. The association of parental cigarette smoking with wheezing symptoms in children as well as the identification of parental smoking as a factor that exacerbates the symptoms of childhood asthma suggests a potential relationship between passive cigarette smoking and nonspecific bronchial responsiveness. To investigate this possibility, we studied parental cigarette smoking, pulmonary function, and nonspecific bronchial responsiveness to eucapneic hyperpnea with subfreezing air in a community based sample of children and young adults.