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. 2009 May;6(5):1633-48.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph6051633. Epub 2009 May 14.

Who is exposed to secondhand smoke? Self-reported and serum cotinine measured exposure in the U.S., 1999-2006

Wendy Max  1 , Hai-Yen Sung, Yanling Shi
Affiliations

Who is exposed to secondhand smoke? Self-reported and serum cotinine measured exposure in the U.S., 1999-2006

Wendy Max et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2009 May.

Abstract

This study presents self-reported and serum cotinine measures of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) for nonsmoking children, adolescents, and adults. Estimates are disaggregated by time periods and sociodemographic characteristics based on analyses of the 1999-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Self-reported exposure rates are found to be highest for children, followed by adolescents and adults. Important differences in exposure are found by socioeconomic characteristics. Using serum cotinine to measure exposure yields much higher prevalence rates than self-reports. Rates of SHS exposure remain high, but cotinine levels are declining for most groups.

Keywords: environmental tobacco smoke; passive smoking; secondhand smoke (SHS); self-reported exposure; serum cotinine.

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