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DC Field | Value | Language |
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dc.contributor.author | Aquilina, Noel | - |
dc.contributor.author | Jacob III, Peyton | - |
dc.contributor.author | Benowitz, Neal L. | - |
dc.contributor.author | Fsadni, Peter | - |
dc.contributor.author | Montefort, Stephen | - |
dc.date.accessioned | 2021-11-24T09:25:54Z | - |
dc.date.available | 2021-11-24T09:25:54Z | - |
dc.date.issued | 2022 | - |
dc.identifier.citation | Aquilina, N., Jacob III, P., Benowitz, N. L., Fsadni, P,. & Montefort, S. (2022). Secondhand smoke exposure in school children in Malta assessed through urinary biomarkers. Environmental Research, 112405. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.uri | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/84552 | - |
dc.description.abstract | School children may be exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) either at home, in transit or in social gatherings permitting smoking in their presence. Questionnaires about SHS often underestimate prevalence and extent of exposure. A more accurate tool is the use of biomarkers such as cotinine (COT) and trans-3′ -hydrocycotinine (3HC) as biomarkers of SHS exposure, alongside 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL), a reduction product in the body of the tobacco-specific nitrosamine, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), both potent carcinogens. We measured urinary COT, 3HC and total NNAL using sensitive and specific high-performance LC-MS/MS methods. The limit of quantification (LOQ) for each assay were 0.05 ng/ mL, 0.1 ng/mL and 0.25 pg/mL respectively. The aim of this study was to evaluate the exposure to SHS of school children (9–11 years), from five public schools in the island of Malta, from questionnaire information about smoking at home and verify it by urinary biomarker data of COT, 3HC and NNAL. These biomarkers were measurable in 99.4%, 95.4% and 98.3% of the participating children respectively. From the children reporting smoking at home, 11% had a history of asthma and had COT, 3HC and NNAL geometric mean concentrations double compared to the non-asthmatic group. In has been confirmed that non-smokers exposed to SHS and THS have a higher NNAL/COT ratio than the group identified as smokers according to specific and defined COT threshold levels (despite the fact that a priori, the entire study group was composed of non-smokers). The implication of high measured levels of urinary NNAL in children should be of concern given its potency. A main effects multifactor ANOVA model was developed and the children’s house and school locations and the smoking frequency were statistically significant to predict the levels of the three metabolites. For 3HC only, the status of the employment of the mother was also an important predictor. | en_GB |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Elsevier Ltd. | en_GB |
dc.rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess | en_GB |
dc.subject | Smoking -- Malta | en_GB |
dc.subject | Passive smoking in children -- Malta | en_GB |
dc.subject | Cotinine | en_GB |
dc.subject | Tobacco smoke pollution | en_GB |
dc.title | Secondhand smoke exposure in school children in Malta assessed through urinary biomarkers | en_GB |
dc.type | article | en_GB |
dc.rights.holder | The copyright of this work belongs to the author(s)/publisher. The rights of this work are as defined by the appropriate Copyright Legislation or as modified by any successive legislation. Users may access this work and can make use of the information contained in accordance with the Copyright Legislation provided that the author must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the prior permission of the copyright holder. | en_GB |
dc.description.reviewed | peer-reviewed | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112405 | - |
dc.publication.title | Environmental Research | en_GB |
Appears in Collections: | Scholarly Works - FacSciChe |
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