Second hand smoke increases children’s risk to meningitis: Study

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Passive or second hand smoke (SHS) has been linked to a plethora of conditions in the non-smoker to include heart disease, lung cancer and SIDS. Research from the United Kingdom now suggests that SHS significantly increases the risk of invasive meningococcal disease in children, according to a University of Nottingham press release Dec. 10.The paper, “Second hand smoke exposure and the risk of invasive meningococcal disease in children: systematic review and meta-analysis” was published today in the online journal, BMC Public Health.Researchers from the University of Nottingham’s UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies identified 18 studies from four databases, which assessed the effects of SHS on the risk of invasive meningococcal disease in children.What they found was children exposed to second-hand smoke risk had double the risk of invasive meningococcal disease. For children under five this risk was even higher, and for children born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy the risk tripled.According to Dr. Rachel L. Murray, Professor of Health Policy and Promotion at the University of Nottingham, “While we cannot be sure exactly how tobacco smoke is affecting these children, the findings from this study highlight consistent evidence of the further harms of smoking around children and during pregnancy, and thus parents and family members should be encouraged to not smoke in the home or around children.”Invasive meningococcal disease remains an important cause of serious morbidity and mortality in children and young people. In addition to being a major cause of bacterial meningitis, it can also cause severe illness when bacteria invade the blood, lungs or joints.According to the release, meningococcal disease is particularly prevalent in children and young adults, and nearly 1 in 20 affected individuals will die despite medical attention. One in 6 will end up with a severe disability, including neurological, behavioral and hearing disorders.The researchers conclude that SHS exposure, and particularly passive fetal exposure to maternal smoking during pregnancy, significantly increases the risk of childhood invasive meningococcal disease. It is likely that an extra 630 cases of invasive meningococcal disease annually in children under 16 are directly attributable to SHS exposure in UK homes.For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page