P. Kriz et al., Parental smoking, socioeconomic factors, and risk of invasive meningococcal disease in children: a population based case-control study, ARCH DIS CH, 83(2), 2000, pp. 117-121
Aims-To investigate the effects of parental smoking, socioeconomic characte
ristics, and indoor environment on the risk of invasive meningococcal disea
se in children.
Methods-Population based case-control study. A total of 68 incident cases o
f invasive meningococcal disease in children less than 15 years old were co
mpared with 135 controls selected from the same school and matched for year
of birth, sex, and place of residence. Information on exposures was obtain
ed in interviews with parents.
Results-Invasive meningococcal disease was strongly associated with parenta
l smoking; rate ratios adjusted for socioeconomic factors were 3.5 (95% con
fidence interval 1.4-8.7) for smoking of mother, 3.2 (1.5-6.9) for smoking
of father, and 2.7 (1.3-5.4) for every 20 cigarettes smoked at home on an a
verage day. The risk of the disease was strongly inversely related to mater
nal education and, less strongly, to ownership of a car and of a weekend ho
use, father's education, crowding, and the number of siblings, but these as
sociations were reduced or eliminated in multivariate models. The type of h
eating and cooking (used as proxies for indoor air pollution) were not asso
ciated with the disease.
Conclusion-The risk of invasive meningococcal disease in children is strong
ly influenced by parental smoking and unfavourable socioeconomic circumstan
ces.