In Japan, new research has shown that exposure to smoking, both during pregnancy and in the first months of a child's life, is associated with a higher prevalence of hearing loss.
PASSIVE SMOKING AND HEARING LOSS IN CHILDREN?
Passive Smoking and Hearing Impairment in Children Related? The study, published in Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, here looks at data collected from 50 children born between 734 and 2004 in the city of Kobe, Japan. Among children, 2010% were exposed to smoke only during their mother's pregnancy, 3,8% were exposed only to their mother's smoking habits, 15,2% were exposed to smoke at four months and 3,9% were exposed to tobacco smoke both during pregnancy and at four months.
The hearing of young children has been assessed here with the “ whisper test , Commonly used for screening for hearing loss in adults and children. During the test, the examiner stands behind the seated patient (to prevent lips from being read) and murmurs a combination of letters and numbers. He then asks the participant of the study to repeat the sequence. Each ear is tested individually.
The results revealed a correlation between exposure to cigarette smoke and hearing loss in three-year-olds. Children exposed to past smoking
of their mothers had a 26% increased risk of hearing loss. Those exposed only to smoke at four months had a 30% increased risk. Those whose mothers smoked during their pregnancy had a 68% increased risk of hearing loss.
Although the study does not prove that exposure to cigarette smoke is the direct cause of hearing loss in children, the researchers noted that prevention of this exposure was an obvious way to reduce the risk to children .
« This study clearly shows that preventing exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy and after birth can reduce the risk of hearing problems in children » the doctor notes Koji Kawakami, from Kyoto University in Japan, and lead author of the study. He also adds that « the results remind us of the need to continue to scale up interventions to prevent smoking before and during pregnancy, as well as smoke exposure in children ».
Source : Sciencepost.fr/
