<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><sec id="j_sjcapp-2015-012_s_001"><h3>Background:</h3><p>Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) has been found to be associated with cognitive deficits in children. However, relatively little is known about the relationship between SHS exposure, cognitive deficits, and smoking-related psychopathology, specifically attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and externalizing disorders such as conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in preschool children.</p></sec><sec id="j_sjcapp-2015-012_s_002"><h3>Methods:</h3><p>Children (n = 54) between the ages of 4 and 6 years from a comprehensive, longitudinal study of preschool emotional development were included in this study. Each child’s primary caregiver completed questionnaires and interviews related to childhood psychopathology. SHS exposure was estimated with the use of saliva cotinine values.</p></sec><sec id="j_sjcapp-2015-012_s_003"><h3>Results:</h3><p>After adjustment for sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, gender, an income-to-needs ratio) and for ADHD, CD, and ODD symptoms, exposure to SHS was found to be negatively associated with preschool children’s nonverbal reasoning skills. Exposure to SHS continued to be negatively associated with nonverbal reasoning skills after adjustment for maternal education, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and maternal reports of exposure to SHS during pregnancy in separate models.</p></sec><sec id="j_sjcapp-2015-012_s_004"><h3>Conclusions:</h3><p>Children who grow up in an environment with adults who smoke are vulnerable to several social and environmental risk factors. The findings of this study suggest that exposure to SHS during early childhood should also be considered as a potential variable in the risk trajectory and as a marker of other associated risks when formulating public health intervention and prevention strategies.</p></sec></abstract>

Background:Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) has been found to be associated with cognitive deficits in children. However, relatively little is known about the relationship between SHS exposure, cognitive deficits, and smoking-related psychopathology, specifically attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and externalizing disorders such as conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in preschool children.Methods:Children (n = 54) between the ages of 4 and 6 years from a comprehensive, longitudinal study of preschool emotional development were included in this study. Each child’s primary caregiver completed questionnaires and interviews related to childhood psychopathology. SHS exposure was estimated with the use of saliva cotinine values.Results:After adjustment for sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, gender, an income-to-needs ratio) and for ADHD, CD, and ODD symptoms, exposure to SHS was found to be negatively associated with preschool children’s nonverbal reasoning skills. Exposure to SHS continued to be negatively associated with nonverbal reasoning skills after adjustment for maternal education, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and maternal reports of exposure to SHS during pregnancy in separate models.Conclusions:Children who grow up in an environment with adults who smoke are vulnerable to several social and environmental risk factors. The findings of this study suggest that exposure to SHS during early childhood should also be considered as a potential variable in the risk trajectory and as a marker of other associated risks when formulating public health intervention and prevention strategies.

Nonverbal Reasoning in Preschool Children: Investigating the Putative Risk of Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder as a Mediator

Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Background:Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) has been found to be associated with cognitive deficits in children. However, relatively little is known about...

Nonverbal Reasoning in Preschool Children: Investigating the Putative Risk of Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder as a Mediator

Article Category: research-article

Published Online: Nov 30, 2014

Page range: 115 - 125

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/sjcapp-2015-012

Keywords
Secondhand smoke, cognition, preschoolers, nicotine, nonverbal reasoning ability

© 2015 Duneesha De Alwis et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Nonverbal Reasoning in Preschool Children: Investigating the Putative Risk of Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder as a Mediator

Article Category: research-article

Published Online: Nov 30, 2014

Page range: 115 - 125

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/sjcapp-2015-012

KeywordsSecondhand smoke, cognition, preschoolers, nicotine, nonverbal reasoning ability

© 2015 Duneesha De Alwis et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Secondhand smoke, cognition, preschoolers, nicotine, nonverbal reasoning ability