Journal
NICOTINE & TOBACCO RESEARCH
Volume 11, Issue 11, Pages 1289-1295Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntp129
Keywords
-
Funding
- National Cancer Institute and the American Lebanese Associated Charities [CA 085406, CA 21765]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Introduction: This study examined whether children with cancer are exposed to measurable levels of passive smoke as assessed by parent report and laboratory measures of urine cotinine, an established biomarker of passive smoke exposure (PSE). It also determined whether parents/caretakers of young cancer patients can provide valid reports of their child's PSE during the child's treatment, by examining their association with urine cotinine measures. Methods: Participants included 124 parents of a child with cancer who lived with at least one adult smoker in the home and was exposed to tobacco smoke in the home and/or car. Eligible patients were younger than 18 years of age, were receiving active treatment for cancer at a large pediatric oncology institution, were at least 30 days postdiagnosis, and did not smoke. Parents provided information about smoking and their child's PSE by responding to a series of questionnaires. Patients provided urine samples for cotinine analyses. Results: Findings showed that parents provided valid short-term accounts of their child's PSE in the context of their child's cancer treatment. Parent reports of PSE showed moderately strong positive relationships with urine cotinine levels which were stronger for reports provided by parents who smoked compared with nonsmoking parents. Discussion: Parent reports of PSE were validated by positive and significant associations with urine cotinine. Reports provided in the context of possible verification by biomarker assays can provide Sufficiently accurate estimates of PSE to serve as outcome measures for clinical research and clinical care in a pediatric cancer setting.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available