Prenatal and postnatal tobacco smoke exposure and respiratory health in Russian children.

Background: Only few studies have assessed the relative impact of prenatal and postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke on the child's later asthma or chronic respiratory symptoms and to our knowledge no studies have elaborated respiratory infections and allergies in this context.

Objective: To assess the effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke on respiratory health of Russian school children.

Methods: We studied a population of 5951 children (8 to 12 years old) from 9 Russian cities, whose parents answered a questionnaire on their children's respiratory health, home environment, and housing characteristics.

Housing characteristics and children's respiratory health in the Russian Federation.

Objectives: We studied housing characteristics, parental factors, and respiratory health conditions in Russian children.

Methods: We studied a population of 5951 children from 9 Russian cities, whose parents answered a questionnaire on their children's respiratory health, home environment, and housing characteristics. The health outcomes were asthma conditions, current wheeze, dry cough, bronchitis, and respiratory allergy.