Social disparities in children’s exposure to second hand smoke at home: a repeated cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Exposure to second hand smoke (SHS) is an important preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in children. We hypothesised that there has been a growth in social inequality in children’s exposure to SHS at home over time. The purpose of this study was to investigate temporal change in smoking in homes including children, focusing on the socioeconomic differences. METHODS: Data is from a repeated cross-sectional survey, ‘Health Profiles of the Capital Region of Denmark’ conducted in 2007 and 2010, in 29 municipalities. The response rate was 52.3%, in both surveys. Our study included persons aged 25 to 64, living with children ≤15 years of age; N=9,289 in 2007 and 12,696 in 2010. Analyses were weighted for size of municipality and for non-response, which was higher among men and among persons who were younger, had a lower income, were living alone, were unemployed, and/or were of an ethnicity other than Danish. Regression analyses were used to investigate smoking in homes including children across parent/adult education levels, focusing on temporal changes. RESULTS: There were significant large socioeconomic differences in both 2007 and 2010. In 2010 it was more than 11 times more likely for a child to be exposed to SHS at home if the parent had very low education than if they were highly educated (p<0.001). Smoking in a home with children decreased from 16.2% in 2007 to 10.9% in 2010. The odds of a temporal decrease in domestic smoking did not differ significantly across parent education levels (p=0.40). CONCLUSIONS: Marked social inequalities in children’s exposure to SHS and a significant temporal decrease in exposure, independent of the education level of the parent/adult, were found in repeated large cross-sectional population-based studies. Social disparities have persisted over time, but not increased. Both clinical and population policy interventions will be needed in order to control child SHS exposure. We call for legislative protection of children from tobacco smoke inside their home as a supplement to parental education and support for smoking cessation.