Sociodemographic Factors, Health Behavior, Parental or Workplace Smoking, and Adult Asthma Risk in the United States.

BACKGROUND:Although several studies have found a link between parental or workplace smoking and asthma risk, particularly in children and adolescents, only a few studies have found this link in adults.OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to investigate the associations of sociodemographic factors, health behavior, and parental or workplace smoking with adult asthma risk in the United States (US).METHODS:A secondary data analysis on 874 participants aged 25-45 was performed using data from the 2011-2014 National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States Refresher. Participants were divided into smokers and nonsmokers. Participants were further divided into groups A (a father or mother with a smoking history) and B (others in the house or colleagues in the workplace who had a smoking history).RESULTS:Findings from the FREQ procedure revealed that sociodemographic (female, black, school or college education, unmarried/divorced, and employed) and lifestyle (no alcohol intake, physically inactive, and obese) and clinical (diabetes and joint disease) factors were significantly associated with one- or more-fold odds of asthma among adult smokers than nonsmokers. Adult smokers in group A, particularly females, those with a high school or college education, physically inactive, and overweight or obese, had a higher risk of asthma than those in group B.CONCLUSION:Adult smokers' risk of developing asthma is increased in the US by having smoked with their parents, being a woman, being black, having a school or college education, being single or divorced, working, not drinking alcohol, being physically inactive, being obese, having diabetes, and having a joint disease.