Tag Archive for: Developing Asian countries

Acute respiratory tract infection (ARI) is one of the most common causes of death in toddlers in developing countries. It is the cause of a significantly higher death rate in toddlers compared to other infections across all countries in the world. This study aims to analyze the impact of smoking history on the incidence of ARI in toddlers in developing countries in Asia. In December 2024, we conducted a meta-analysis on 59 case-control research articles published in both Indonesian and English between 2014 and 2024. The results of the study showed that there was an influence of smoking history in the family with the incidence of ARI in toddlers in developing countries in Asia (p-value = <0.0001); a history of smoking in the family has a risk of 3.17 times greater, which can result in ARI in toddlers when compared to toddlers who are not exposed to cigarette smoke, and the variation between publications was considered heterogeneous (=75%) with p = <0.00001, which was not statistically significant.  Periodically carry out education, counseling, and health promotion to enhance family knowledge and awareness, particularly among parents and those closest to toddlers, about not smoking in the house or near toddlers.