| Summary: | Introduction
Previous studies have suggested an association between tobacco
smoke exposure and allergic rhinitis. This study aimed to investigate if prenatal
or postpartum smoke exposure will increase the risk of allergic rhinitis in offspring.
Methods
PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane library were searched from inception
to July 2020 for eligible studies investigating the association between smoking
exposure and allergic rhinitis. The random-effects model was adopted for the metaanalysis
to obtain the summary odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval
(CI). Subgroup analysis based on the age of children was performed. Sensitivity
analysis was carried out to check the robustness of the results. Publication bias of
included studies was assessed.
Results
This meta-analysis included nine studies, in which six studies suggested that
children exposed to prenatal smoking were more likely to develop allergic rhinitis
compared with children who were never exposed (OR=1.12; 95% CI: 1.04–1.21).
The subgroup analysis divided children those aged 10 years (OR=0.99; 95% CI: 0.82–1.20). This metaanalysis
revealed a positive relationship between postpartum smoke exposure and
the development of allergic rhinitis in offspring (OR=1.19; 95% CI: 1.03–1.39)
with marked heterogeneity. The subgroup analysis of age in the postnatal group
showed similar results in children aged >10 years (OR=1.17; 95% CI: 1.05–1.30)
and children aged <10 years (OR=1.21; 95% CI: 0.91–1.60).
Conclusions
This meta-analysis observed an association between parental smoking
exposure and allergic rhinitis in offspring. Our findings indicated that both prenatal
and postnatal smoke exposure might be risk factors for allergic rhinitis in the
offspring.
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