Prospective associations of partner smoking with mental and perceived family well-being in mothers of young children

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Nearly one-third of mothers whose partners are smokers in Hong Kong. Yet, studies on the impacts of partner smoking on the well-being of mother and family are limited. This study examined the associations of partner smoking (mostly husband) with mental and perceived family well-being in mothers of young children in Hong Kong. Methods: A 3-year prospective cohort of 422 non-smoking mothers with young children (aged ≤18 months) were enrolled from four Maternal and Child Health Centres. Mother reported partner smoking, depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 [PHQ-9]), happiness level (Subjective Happiness Scale score [SHS]; range 1–7), and perceived family harmony and family happiness (each measured on a Likert scale of 0 to 10). Linear and logistic regression were used to examine the prospective association of partner smoking with depression symptoms, happiness and family well-being, adjusting for age, education level and monthly household income. Results: 169 (40%) partners of mothers were smokers. 5.7% (95%CI: 3.9%, 8.3%) mothers had risk of depression (scoring >4 on PHQ-9); the mean±SD score of SHS, perceived family harmony and happiness were 5.3±1.0, 7.7±1.4 and 7.7±1.4, respectively. Multivariable analyses showed that mothers whose partners were smoking (vs non-smoking) were associated with an increased risk of depression (AOR=3.72, 95% CI: 1.46, 9.44), lower happiness level (adjusted b= -0.067, 95% CI: -0.13, 0.0034), and lower levels of family harmony (adjusted b= -0.28, 95% CI: -0.56, -0.0033) and family happiness (adjusted b= -0.36, 95% CI -0.64, -0.085). The results were similar after excluding fathers who initiated (n=19) or quit smoking (n=20) during the study period. Conclusions: Partner smoking predicted adverse mental and perceived family well-being in mothers of young children. The findings, if confirmed by further studies, could be a new warning for motivating male smokers to quit.