Paternal Smoking and Increased Risk of Infant and Under-5 Child Mortality in Indonesia

Abstract

We examined the relationship between paternal smoking and child mortality. Among 361,021 rural and urban families in Indonesia, paternal smoking was associated with increased infant mortality (rural, odds ratio [OR] = 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.24, 1.35; urban, OR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.01, 1.20), and under-5 child mortality (rural, OR = 1.32; 95% CI = 1.26, 1.37; urban, OR = 1.14; 95% CI = 1.05, 1.23). Paternal smoking diverts money from basic necessities to cigarettes and adversely affects child health; tobacco control should therefore be considered among strategies to improve child survival.