P2B372: Association Between Physical Activity and Tobacco Smoke Exposure in a Large National Survey

Background: Children are at significant risk for complications from second-hand smoke (SHS). Tobacco smoke exposure can lead to decreased physical activity. With ongoing knowledge of the importance of physical activity in children, questions remain as to the impact of SHS exposure and physical activity. As exposure to tobacco smoke in the home can vary based on socio-economic status, knowing the impact of SHS on physical activity is important to promote health equity.

Methods: Using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a large national survey, we compared self-reported household tobacco smoke exposure to reported daily physical activity in children two to seventeen years of age. We analyzed body mass index (BMI), income brackets, and number of hours watching television to see if there were significant differences in the two groups. Chi-square tests for independence was conducted to compare the percentage of children exercising daily and their exposure to household tobacco smoke.

Results: 2295 participants were analyzed. Respondents were separated into household exposure of tobacco smoke and not. The majority of respondents were not exposed to tobacco smoke (N=1576, 68.7%). Demographics regarding gender, age at screening, BMI, annual household income, and hours watching television is attached in Table 1 with p-values based on chi-square or independent t-test in the study sample of those exposed and not exposed to cigarette smoke. We found that children exposed to household tobacco smoke had a higher BMI, were in lower income brackets, and watched more television. We found that the amount of physical activity in those not exposed to household tobacco smoke was significantly less than those exposed to household tobacco smoke; comparing the recommended daily physical activity of sixty minutes or more in the group of those exposed to tobacco smoke compared to those not exposed to tobacco smoke, daily physical activity was less in those not exposed to tobacco smoke (49.2% daily activity vs 39.7% daily activity, p-value < 0.001). Figure 1 further delineates the rate of daily physical in regards to number of household smokers, those who smoke in the home and the number of days someone smokes in the home.

Conclusion: After the analysis, we did not expect the noted association between self-reported exposure to cigarette smoke and self-reported physical activity levels in children. Further studies are needed to assess for other confounding factors. Additionally other determinants of cardiorespiratory fitness may be more reliable than self-reported physical activities and concentrations of SHS in children compared to number of household smokers.