Race Affects Tobacco Toxins in Children

Ivanhoe Newswire

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The race of a child may determine how susceptible they are to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).

Black children have more tobacco-related disorders like asthma, sudden infant death syndrome and low birth weight. Researchers from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center wanted to understand why and how this happens.

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Researchers looked at 220 children ages 5 to 12 with asthma who were exposed to at least five cigarettes a day in or around their home. Researchers tested the children for cotinine levels -- a product of nicotine metabolism -- by collecting serum and hair samples. When a person inhales nicotine, the body uses proteins to convert it into cotinine.

Researchers report no racial differences in the levels of environmental tobacco smoke exposure outside the home or in air nicotine levels after six months or one year. But while black children spent less time exposed to environmental tobacco smoke, they had much higher cotinine levels than white children. Results show serum cotinine levels in the black participants were 32-percent higher on average than in the whites. Hair cotinine levels were four-times higher.

"Previous studies of adult smokers, as well as cross-sectional studies of nonsmokers have demonstrated similar racial differences in serum cotinine. However, we were surprised at the magnitude of the racial differences in the hair cotinine," reports lead author Stephen Wilson, M.D., from the University of Cincinnati. "African-American children may 'handle' environmental tobacco smoke differently than white children, so these results raise questions as to whether there are racial differences in other tobacco toxicants, as well."

The American College of Chest Physicians says exposure to tobacco smoke is dangerous for everyone, regardless of age or race, and stresses how important it is to eliminate environmental tobacco smoke, especially if children are around.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: CHEST, 2007;131: 856862