Background. Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children under the age of 5 years globally. Tobacco smoke exposure is one of the risk factors of pneumonia in children. Indonesia is the third country with the highest number of smokers in the world. Identification of relationship between tobacco smoke exposure and severe pneumonia will decrease the burden of disease This study aimed to asses the relationship between tobacco smoke exposure and severe pneumonia among children under 5 years old
Methods. A case-control study was carried out from February to August 2018 in Atma Jaya Hospital. Data were obtained through medical reports and interviews with parents. The cases included children with severe pneumonia, whereas the controls were children with pneumonia. Data were analyzed using chi square; significance level was set at 0.05.
Results. We recruited 34 cases and 33 controls. Bivariate analyses showed a strong relationship between tobacco smoke exposure and severe pneumonia. The presence of smoker (OR 32.3; 95% CI 7.75 to 134.62), number of smokers at home ( = 2 smokers OR = 75,00, 95% CI = 6,89-816,86; 1 smoker OR = 26,19, 95% CI = 6,03-113,78) and parents’ smoking behavior at home (OR 28.00; 95% CI 3.81 to 205.79) were significant risk factors that increased the incidence of severe pneumonia among children aged 0 – 5 years.
Conclusion. Tobacco smoke exposure and crowding are significant risk factors for severe pneumonia among children aged 0 – 5 years. |