A Comparison of Biochemical and Interview Measures of the Exposure of Infants to Environmental Tobacco Smoke

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Abstract
This study of 37 infants found substantial agreement among a biochemical indicator of infant passive smoking, an interview measure of the tobacco smoke environment of the infant, and active smoking in the household When any of the three measures were compared, both measures were positive for 75% to 82% of the subjects and negative for 88% to 92%. The correlations among the variables considered as continuous measures ranged from .64 to .74. These correlations are strong enough to suggest that both measures reflect exposure but too weak to assume that one measure can serve as a ready substitute for the other The agreement among continuous measures was due to their ability to distinguish between exposed and nonexposed infants, rather than to their continuous properties.