Study suggests eliminating secondhand smoke exposure could cut 40 percent of cases
MONDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) -- Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) is common in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), and many cases of CRS may be directly attributable to the SHS exposure, according to a study published in the April issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery.
C. Martin Tammemagi, Ph.D., of Brock University in St. Catharines, Canada, and colleagues studied 306 nonsmoking patients diagnosed with incident CRS and 306 matched nonsmoking controls.
The researchers found that more patients than controls were exposed to SHS at home (13.4 versus 9.1 percent), work (18.6 versus 6.9 percent), private social functions (51.3 versus 27.8 percent) and public places (90.2 versus 84.3 percent). Their adjusted analysis found an independent association between CRS and SHS exposure at home, work, public places and private functions (odds ratios, 1.69, 2.81, 1.48 and 2.60, respectively). They also found a strong, independent dose-response relationship between CRS and the number of venues where SHS exposure occurred (odds ratio per one of four levels, 2.03). About 40 percent of CRS appeared to be attributable to SHS, the researchers found.
"Assuming a causal relationship, elimination of exposure to secondhand smoke could prevent approximately 40 percent of chronic rhinosinusitis cases," the authors conclude.
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