1. Objectifs

Intentions :
The objective of «this current study was to examine the associations between SHS [secondhand smoke] exposure at home and in cars and reports of depressive symptoms in a population-based sample of children. [The authors] studied the association in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.» (p. 33)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
Les données proviennent de l’étude AdoQuest I (n = 1801). Le sous-échantillon utilisé dans la présente étude est composé de 1553 enfants recrutés auprès de 29 écoles primaires de Montréal.

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

The authors «found that SHS exposure, whether at home or in cars, is associated with depressive symptoms in the short-term [but] not in the long-term […].That SHS exposure is associated with self-reports of depressive symptoms in the cross-sectional analyses in AdoQuest aligns with previous cross-sectional findings in children, adolescents, and adults. A novel contribution of this study is that early SHS exposure (in fifth or sixth grade), both at home and in cars, was independently associated with depressive symptoms 1 year later, although SHS exposure at any age was not associated with depressive symptoms 2 years later. Even after controlling for baseline depressive symptoms, the 1-year associations between SHS exposure and depressive symptoms were significant. An alternative explanation, that parents with depression smoked more than nondepressed parents, thereby exposing their children to SHS more often, and also passed along to their children a propensity to experience depressive symptoms, seems less plausible once baseline depressive symptoms are taken into account. Nevertheless, [the authors] did not assess parental mental health, which limits [their] ability to explore this alternative hypothesis. […] In conclusion, results of this study raise concerns that in addition to physical health, SHS exposure might also affect the mental health of young persons.» (p. 35-36-37)