Parental region of birth, socio-economic status and infants' exposure to second-hand smoke

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the impact of parental region of birth on the risk of exposure to second-hand smoke for infants. Methods: The smoking habits, according to child health records, of parents of 14 431 infants in Uppsala county, Sweden, born during 1997-2001, were investigated with logistic regression in the presence of socio-economic and demographic confounders from national registers. Results: Fathers born outside of Sweden smoked more often than Swedish-born fathers irrespective of region of birth (adjusted odds ratios [ORs] 1.77-3.02). Mothers born in Africa (adjusted OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.15-0.58) and Asia (adjusted OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.40-0.70) smoked less often than Swedish-born mothers. Single parenthood, low income and mother's age ≤24 years increased the risk for parental smoking. Conclusion: The present study indicates that the risk of smoking in immigrant parents of infants is influenced by the smoking patterns in the region of birth. Smoke cessation interventions targeting fathers are particularly important in immigrant-dense neighbourhoods in Sweden. © 2008 The Author(s).