The interaction between children and their environments is a subject of significant interest to researchers in NYU Langone’s Division of General Pediatrics. Investigators working in this area include Michael L. Weitzman, MD, who studies the effect of smoking, prenatal and secondhand smoke exposure, and vaping on children and adults to assess the following:

• the air quality and health effects of secondhand hookah smoke exposure on children and adults living in homes in which a child and a nonsmoking adult live with a hookah smoker and another group where a child and adult live in a nonsmoking home
• the air quality and health effects of secondhand aerosol exposure on children and adults living in homes where e-cigarettes are used, homes where children live and cigarettes are smoked, and homes where children live and there is no smoking

The investigations involve collecting and analyzing various air quality and cardiopulmonary measures such as black carbon, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide. In addition, biological samples such as nasal mucosa, saliva, and urine are collected to assess changes in inflammatory markers and markers of future cardiovascular disease. For more information, contact ahhh-study@nyulangone.org or 646-754-4897.

Another study assesses the air quality in homes where cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or hookah is used. No measures of health effects are collected, and the homes do not all have children living in them. Because virtually no data exist on air quality in homes where hookahs are smoked (other than the one study that Dr. Weitzman and colleagues completed in the United Arab Emirates), this study was designed to collect relevant data in a more expeditious fashion. For more information, contact hookah-study@nyulangone.org or 646-754-4897.

Dr. Weitzman is also studying periodontal disease and the periodontal microbiome in individuals who smoke cigarettes or hookah or use e-cigarettes.

Numerous other epidemiologic studies are underway that utilize large national datasets, such as the National Health Interview Survey, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the National Youth Tobacco Survey, and the National Adult Tobacco Survey. These data are used to investigate issues such as the relationship of smoking to inflammation among individuals with depression; the body burden of heavy metals such as lead and cadmium among individuals who vape; the birth weight, mental health, and rates and severity of asthma of children who live in homes with adult vapers; and the transition from vaping to cigarette smoking of adolescents.