Second Hand Smoke Linked To Kids' Depression, Anxiety, ADHD

[tpsbmam]

Well, this one will probably go over like a lead balloon.

From HuffPo:

Children and teens who are exposed to second-hand smoke could be at greater risk of suffering from mental health disorders like depression, anxiety and ADHD, according to a new study that's among the first to closely examine the potential association between second-hand smoke and mental health.

Researchers writing in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, looked at nearly 3,000 children, aged 8 to 15. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, more than 60 percent of children between the ages of 3 and 11 are exposed to second-hand smoke.

Smoke exposure in the children (who were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted from 2001 to 2004), was determined by looking at serum cotinine levels -- a marker used to show how much smoke has entered the body. The 3,000 participants were also screened for potential mental disorders using the National Institute of Mental Health's Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children questionnaire, which diagnoses for conditions included in DSM IV.

Ultimately, researchers found that higher serum cotinine levels were linked to symptoms associated with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, ADHD and conduct disorder, which the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry defines as a group of chronic behavioral and emotional problems.

Actually, it probably deserves to go over like a lead balloon. Without access to the study (expensive medical journal) I can't tell anything about controls. What other contributing factors were there? What did they control for? What were preexisting mental health conditions of the adults in the house? Is there a correlation between certain mental health conditions and smoking around children? And I can think of many, many more. But the research is out there in the M$M so it'll likely be reflexively added to the list of second hand smoke dangers.

I personally need to know much more about the nature of the research and I'm guessing that there were probably alternate explanations for the outcome that weren't covered by the research design and analyses.

[aquart]

1. Smoke exposure or parent who smoked because they had the same condition?

[babydollhead]

2. is the 2nd hand smoke addictive?