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NEW YORK, Mar 06 (Reuters Health) - Being exposed to secondhand smoke may deprive children of an important vitamin that may protect against heart disease and is needed for growth and development, according to a new report.
In a study of nearly 3,000 children, those who were exposed to the most cigarette smoke had the lowest levels of vitamin C in their blood, regardless of how much vitamin C they took in food and multivitamins, findings show.
Since vitamin C protects against metabolic changes that can lead to heart disease, the report highlights the dangers of passive or secondhand smoke to children, explains Dr. Richard S. Strauss of the University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick. Other studies have linked secondhand smoke to lower blood levels of vitamin C and beta-carotene in adults, and to an increased risk of asthma and wheezing in children.
Strauss measured blood levels of cotinine--a byproduct of tobacco smoke--in 2,968 children aged 4 to 18. He also interviewed parents and children about their smoking habits and recorded the child's diet over the past day.
Although intake of fruit, a major source of vitamin C, was similar among children with smoking and nonsmoking parents, blood levels of the vitamin were lower in children exposed to tobacco smoke.
Overall, children and adolescents exposed to cigarette smoke had 20% less vitamin C in their blood than those who were not exposed, according to the report in the March issue of Pediatrics.
Cigarette smoke contains high levels of free radicals--compounds implicated in disease and aging. Exposure to these compounds via passive smoking could deplete the body's supplies of antioxidant vitamins like vitamin C, Strauss points out.
Passive smoking has been linked to asthma, sudden infant death syndrome, susceptibility to infections and heart disease.
A survey conducted last year by researchers at Mississippi State University in Starkville revealed that while the vast majority of parents believe smoking harms children, one-fifth allow people to smoke around their kids. And while 90% of the 1,500 respondents said students should be banned from smoking at school, 43% said it was all right for teachers to light up at school.
SOURCE: Pediatrics 2001;107:540-542.
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