Children and teens exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to develop symptoms for a variety of mental health problems, including major depressive disorder, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder and others, according to a study published in Tuesday's edition of the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
At this point, it's no surprise that exposure to tobacco smoke is unhealthy. Plenty of studies have linked secondhand smoke to respiratory problems, asthma, sudden infant death syndrome, middle ear infections and other physical health problems.
But the link between secondhand smoke and mental health has not been examined as closely.
The new study is believed to be the first that looks at how secondhand smoke exposure - as measured by the presence of a nicotine metabolite in the blood - is associated with mental health in a nationally representative sample of American kids and teens.
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health, the University of Miami and Legacy, the nonprofit that fights tobacco use, used data on 2,901 youths between ages 8 and 15 when they were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2001 to 2004. As part of the study, the kids were asked to provide blood samples; those who were exposed to secondhand smoke had higher levels of the cotinine, which is produced as the body metabolizes nicotine. The kids were also assessed for a variety of mental health disorders as defined by the National Institute of Mental Health's Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV.
