The Relationship Between Personal Factors, Smoke Exposure at Home, and Respiratory Problems in Early Childhood in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personal factors, smoke exposure at home, and respiratory problems in early childhood in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand. SAMPLES AND METHODS: This study was retrospective. There was a total of 414 samples in the study. The instruments included the questionnaire about the personal data of early childhood and their caregivers, the smoke exposure assessment form, and the early childhood respiratory problem assessment form. The relationship between personal factors, smoke exposure at home, and respiratory problems in early childhood was analyzed by the Chi-squared test and binary logistic regression. RESULTS: The results revealed that smoke exposure at home in early childhood was moderate (52.2%). There 68.8% had respiratory problems. The relationship between birth weight, and smoke exposure at home in early childhood was found to be significantly related to respiratory problems (X(2) =5.014 p< 0.05 and X(2) = 85.711 p< 0.001, respectively). It was found that children with a birth weight ≤2500g had respiratory problems at 2.55 times of the samples with birth weight >2500g (AOR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.10–5.96), and moderate-high smoke exposure had respiratory problems at 8.86 times of the samples with low smoke exposure (AOR = 8.86, 95% CI: 5.39–14.60). Nutritional status and breastfeeding were not significantly related to respiratory problems in early childhood p > 0.05. CONCLUSION: The birth weight and smoke exposure at home factors were found to be related to their respiratory problems in early childhood. Thus, it is necessary to reduce stimuli, especially smoking at home. Moreover, the standard birth weight of their early childhood will reduce the rate of respiratory problems.