While the adverse health risks associated with smoking have been well-documented, few studies have examined the cardiovascular outcomes associated with secondhand smoking. The purpose of the study was to assess the distributions and association of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS). Data were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015-2016 cycle. Self-reported smoking status and cotinine levels were used to identify exposure groups (smokers, nonsmokers, and secondhand smokers), and medical history of several cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart diseases and stroke were also collected via self-report survey. The association between exposure to SHS and seven cardiovascular outcomes were analyzed using chi-square analysis and odd ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using two logistic regression models. The data included 5,709 subjects including 18.5% smokers, 23.6% secondhand smokers, and 57.9% nonsmokers. There was statistically significant association between exposure to SHS and only two out of seven cardiovascular outcomes, hypertension (OR 1.554, 95% CI [1.066, 2.265]) and cholesterol levels (OR 1.213, 95% CI [1.017, 1.446]). This study is one of the first to determine an association between SHS and seven cardiovascular outcomes, thus highlighting the importance of reducing SHS exposure and can be used for further research on SHS and cardiovascular health.

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Philosophy

Tobacco smoking has been proved to be harmful to human health and is a known cause of many diseases. It has been shown that not only active smoking can cause health inconveniences - even an exposure to the environmental tobacco smoke (so called secondhand - SHS - or passive smoking) is a serious threat to human health, in some aspects nearly as severe as active smoking. Being aware of these risks, many countries have recently amended their policies which more or less restrict smoking in public places, especially workplaces and hospitality venues. In the Czech Republic, the smoke-free policy belongs to the less strict related to other countries, because it does not restrict smoking at all public places - restaurant and bar owners can choose whether their venue is smoke-free or not and their duty is only to label their venue both outside and inside. The law also enables the option of setting smoking and non-smoking spaces within the restaurant or bar. In a representative sample (over 100) of smoking and non-smoking sections of these restaurants and bars the concentrations of PM2.5, a marker of SHS concentrations, were measured with a photometer. The venues were divided into 3 groups according to the extent of separation of the sections. Parallel to the measurements, the gender composition and smoking...

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 47-01, page: 0343. Adviser: Stephanie McFall. Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Medicine / Master / Doctor of Medicine

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

The current study, of qualitative nature, had as its central theme the passive smoking through the perspective of Education in Science. Seeking to generate subsidies which would cooperate to the establishment of pedagogical strategies which promote both meaningful learning and scientific literacy regarding the theme, the study aimed at: investigating elementary school (from 6th through 9th) students conceptions about passive smoking. evaluate the approach of the themes passive smoking and smoking in the didactic science books used in elementary school; elaborate a ludic-interactive pedagogical tool contemplating the effects of passive smoking on the biological system; evaluate the impact of the pedagogical tool on the students conceptions after their interaction with it. The tools used for the data collection were the semi-structured questionary and the active observation. To approximate reality, the theory of Previous Conceptions was used and for the data interpretation Content Analysis and Descriptive Statistics were used. The results obtained in the study, in a general way, show that: the elementary school students conceptions on passive smoking are scarce superficial; students conceptions vary from non-understanding of what passive smoking is up to the suitable understanding, although incomplete, of the scientific concept of it. In Addition, the conceptions demonstrated to be strongly associated to the universe of drugs, of disease and of death; the theme approach in Science books came out limited, fragmented and decontextualized; the pedagogical tool Lung and its Gang , elaborated in the study, demonstrated to be useful to comprehend passive smoking and its effects on the biological system, since evolutions in the students concepts were observed after their interaction with it. After this interaction with the pedagogical tool, the dawn of a critical attitude from the students regarding passive smoking was also noticed. Even though the obtained results cannot be generalized, they reveal both the shortage of formal knowledge on passive smoking among elementary school students and the neglect of the theme in the school sphere. The elaborated pedagogical tool, however in need of repair, was able to motivate students to critically reflect about the theme, therefore outlining a scientific literacy about it. Considering the aspects inferred in this study, it is expected that it contributes to the elaboration of political-pedagogical proposals which contemplate not only passive smoking, which is the third largest avoidable and removable reason for death in the world, but also other themes on life quality and health, thus promoting scientific literacy through Education in Science. / O presente estudo, de caráter qualitativo, teve como tema central o fumo passivo pela perspectiva da Educação em Ciências. Buscando gerar subsídios que colaborassem para o estabelecimento de estratégias pedagógicas promotoras tanto de uma aprendizagem significativa como de uma alfabetização científica em relação ao tema, o estudo teve como objetivos: investigar as concepções dos alunos de ensino fundamental (6º ao 9º ano) sobre o fumo passivo; avaliar a abordagem do tema nos livros didáticos de Ciências utilizados no ensino fundamental; elaborar uma ferramenta pedagógica lúdico-interativa contemplando os efeitos do fumo passivo sobre o sistema biológico; avaliar o impacto da ferramenta pedagógica sobre as concepções dos alunos após a interação destes com a mesma. Os instrumentos utilizados para a coleta dos dados foram o questionário semiestruturado e a observação participante. Para a aproximação da realidade foi utilizada a teoria das Concepções Prévias e para a interpretação dos dados foram utilizadas a Análise de Conteúdo e a Estatística Descritiva. Os resultados obtidos no estudo, de uma forma geral, demonstraram que: as concepções dos alunos de ensino fundamental acerca do fumo passivo são escassas e superficiais; as concepções dos alunos variaram do não entendimento sobre o que é fumo passivo até a compreensões condizentes, embora incompletas, com o conceito científico do mesmo. Ainda, as concepções mostraram-se fortemente associadas ao universo das drogas, da doença e da morte; a abordagem do tema nos livros didáticos de Ciências mostrou-se reduzida, fragmentada e descontextualizada; a ferramenta pedagógica Pulmão e sua Turma , elaborada no estudo, mostrou-se útil na compreensão acerca do fumo passivo e seus efeitos sobre o sistema biológico, uma vez que foram observadas evoluções nas concepções dos alunos após a interação com a mesma. Observou-se, também, o estabelecimento de uma postura crítica dos alunos em relação ao fumo passivo após a interação com a ferramenta pedagógica. Apesar dos resultados obtidos não poderem ser generalizados eles são reveladores tanto da escassez de conhecimentos formais sobre o fumo passivo entre os alunos de ensino fundamental quanto do descaso com o tema no âmbito escolar. A ferramenta pedagógica elaborada, embora necessite de reparos, foi capaz de motivar os alunos a refletirem de forma crítica sobre o tema, esboçando assim, uma alfabetização científica em relação ao mesmo. Considerando-se os aspectos inferidos neste estudo, espera-se que ele contribua para a elaboração de propostas político-pedagógicas que contemplem, não só o fumo passivo, que é a terceira maior causa de morte evitável e removível no mundo, mas também outros temas relativos à qualidade de vida e à saúde, fomentando, assim, a alfabetização científica através da Educação em Ciências.

Bibliography: leaves 92-98.

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy