Tobacco smoke exposure in children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus

Aims. To examine active and passive tobacco smoke exposure in children and adolescents attending a diabetic clinic. Methods. Salivary cotinine concentrations were measured by gas chromatograp hy and questionnaire data on the smoking habits of patients, families and f riends were analysed as well as recording of glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA( 1C)), body mass index (BMI) and social deprivation score. Results. Salivary cotinine concentrations identified 7% of the patients as active smokers and 72% as passive smokers. The mean cotinine concentration in those with no identifiable source of exposure was 0.10 (95% confidence i nterval 0.05- 0.14) ng/ml, 2.81 (2.24-3.38) ng/ml in the passive smoking gr oup and 103.69 (55.96-151.41) ng/ml in the active smokers. Cotinine concent rations in passive smokers increased with the number of sources of exposure . The mean cotinine concentration was also higher when the mother was the s ole source compared to other sources. There was no statistically significan t correlation to smoking exposure and HbA(1C), BMI and deprivation scores. Conclusion. Tobacco smoke exposure may pose serious health risks to childre n and adolescents with diabetes and additional public health measures are r equired to reduce overall exposure.