A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Secondhand Smoke Exposure toward the Incidence of Pneumonia in Children Under Five

Abstract

Background: Pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection in which the alveoli are filled with pus and fluids that cause painful respiration and limit oxygen intake. Pneumonia is the main cause of death among children under five in the world, killing more than 800,000 children under five each year, or about 2,200 per day. One of the risk factors for pneumonia in children under five is exposure to secondhand smoke. This study aimed to estimate the magnitude of the effect of exposure to secondhand smoke on the incidence of pneumonia in children under five. Subjects and Method: This study used a systematic review and meta-analysis technique. There were three article search databases including Google Scholar, Pubmed, and Science Direct with a publication period from 2009-2020. The article search was carried out by considering the eligibility criteria defined using the PICO model. P: children under five, I: exposed to secondhand smoke, C: not exposed to secondhand smoke, and O: pneumonia. The keywords for searching the articles were (risk factors OR passive smoking OR secondhand smoking) AND (pneumonia) AND (children under five). The articles included in this study were full-text articles, articles in English, arti