Scientists have pointed out the harm of secondhand smoke for children
Secondhand smoke significantly impairs the quality and duration of children's sleep, regardless of whether the child has breathing problems. This was reported by Medical Xpress magazine.
Specialists from Ben-Gurion University in Israel studied the indicators of 30 children aged one to 12 years who were examined in a sleep laboratory due to suspected respiratory disorders. To ensure the objectivity of the data, the scientists analyzed the content of cotinine, a biological marker of nicotine, in the morning urine of the patients. It turned out that tobacco smoke directly affects the central nervous system, causing frequent awakenings and reducing the overall duration of rest.
According to the results of laboratory tests, children exposed to smoke had a 67% higher wake-up index than their peers. At the same time, the level of nicotine markers in the body directly correlated with a decrease in sleep efficiency: the higher the concentration of chemicals, the more difficult it was for the child to maintain a stable state of rest during the night.
"Our study shows that secondhand smoke directly destroys the quality of children's sleep, even if it does not worsen the physical index of sleep apnea. Understanding that smoke exposure leads to severe sleep fragmentation allows us to make targeted recommendations to families. The exclusion of tobacco smoke from a child's environment is a completely avoidable factor that can immediately improve sleep efficiency, brain recovery, and children's overall health," the authors concluded.
The researchers emphasized that tobacco smoke acts as an irritant to the brain, provoking the release of chemicals associated with wakefulness and disrupting natural circadian rhythms. This effect does not depend on the severity of snoring or the degree of airway blockage.
Scientists have also documented a serious gap between objective data and parental testimony. Despite the fact that biological tests confirmed the presence of a smoking parent in 46% of children, about 60% of these adults denied that their children were exposed to second-hand smoke. According to the authors, this indicates the need for mandatory clinical screening and a revision of the idea of a "safe" smoking distance near family members.
On April 2, Ekaterina Andreeva, an allergist and immunologist at the Be Healthy clinic on Sushchevsky Val, denied the existence of an allergy to tobacco smoke. According to her, hypersensitivity to the components of tobacco smoke in some people is usually explained by individual characteristics. The allergist emphasized that this is a reaction of intolerance to individual components of smoke, and not to it entirely.
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