(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Children exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to be sent to the hospital with more than just respiratory problems.

In a recent study researchers assessed the relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and first admission to the hospital. The study was done in Hong Kong and included 7,402 children ranging in age from newborn to eight years old. Researchers found children who lived in the same house of someone who smoked within three meters of them during their first months of life were the most at risk for being admitted to the hospital with illnesses like meningococcal disease. Children born with a low birth weight were 75 percent more likely to be admitted to the hospital with an infectious disease during the eight years, and those born prematurely were twice as likely.
 

Study authors suggest that secondhand smoke may not just affect a child’s respiratory system; it may tear down his or her immune system as well. “An excess risk of severe morbidity from both respiratory and other infections for all infants exposed to secondhand smoke suggests that such exposure, as well as acting via direct contact with the respiratory tract, may also affect the immune system,” study authors wrote.

SOURCE: Tobacco Control, published online April 7, 2008