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February 28, 2007
Los Angeles - A new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows that smoking and pets in the home are linked with asthma symptoms and other breathing difficulties. These indoor triggers could worsen the symptoms of the nearly 1.9 million Californians with active asthma, and the 2.6 million who suffer from breathing problems, even though they have not been diagnosed with asthma.
The findings in the policy brief are based on data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey.
"While few would be surprised at the idea that tobacco smoke is linked to asthma and other breathing problems, our data show that smoking in the home is a trigger for breathing problems for both smokers and non-smokers alike," said Theresa A. Hastert, lead author of the brief and senior research associate at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. "It is also particularly interesting to see this connection to pets in the home."
Among adults with active asthma, 58 percent of those with cats in the home suffer at least monthly from symptoms such as coughing or wheezing. Only 49 percent of adults with active asthma who have neither cats nor dogs suffer these same monthly symptoms.
Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of non-smoking adults with asthma who are exposed to second hand smoke at home suffer at least monthly from asthma symptoms, compared to less than half (48 percent) of those who live in smoke-free households. Secondhand smoke in the home is also linked to breathing problems for those who have not been diagnosed with asthma.
Other findings in the brief include:
- Children and adults who have not been diagnosed with asthma are more likely to experience asthma-like breathing problems when exposed to second hand smoke at home (14 percent and 13 percent, respectively), compared to when smoking is not allowed in the home (10 percent and 9 percent, respectively).
- There is some evidence to indicate that cats are more likely than dogs to be associated with breathing problems for children and adults.
- Among adults with active asthma, nearly two-thirds of smokers experienced asthma symptoms at least once a month (65 percent), compared to less than half of non-smokers (49 percent).
"Asthma and other breathing problems are a significant public health concern in California," said Robert K. Ross, M.D., president and CEO of The California Endowment, which provided funding for the policy brief. "Families and communities need to be better informed about how they can reduce asthma triggers in the home in order to avoid the dangerous, costly, and ultimately, unnecessary breathing problems associated with them."
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research was established in 1994 and is one of the nation's leading health policy research centers. It is also the premier source of key health policy information for California. The Center is based in the UCLA School of Public Health and is affiliated with the UCLA School of Public Affairs.
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