© 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc. Volume 11(2) March 2000 p 230 Parental Smoking and Infection with Helicobacter pylori among Preschool Children [Letters] Cockburn, Myles; Goodman, Karen J. Department of Preventive Medicine University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center 1441 Eastlake Avenue, MS#44 Los Angeles, CA 90033-0800 (address correspondence to: Myles Cockburn) School of Public Health University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center Houston, TX Outline z References To the Editor: Brenner et al. reported a protective effect of maternal smoking on the acquisition of Helicobacter pylori infection and proposed an explanation based on several assumptions: infection is acquired in infancy; the oral-oral pathway is a major mode of transmission; and smoking (by mothers but not fathers) inhibits transmission of the bacterium or increases resistance to infection through nicotine in breast- milk. 1 In a previous letter, we suggested that the literature does not support these assumptions. 2 We wish to dispel confusion regarding interpretation of the available literature and emphasize the paucity of data regarding H. pylori infection in infants of breast-feeding age in developed nations. Brenner et al3 observed the prevalence of infection in 6 year olds and proposed that infection was acquired during infancy - by conventional definition, the first 12 months of life. In our previous letter, we cited the only six studies we could find with information on incidence or age- specific prevalence in European infants and toddlers;4 – 9 three of the six studies followed a cohort Output... Links... History... Parental Smoking and Infe... Page 1 of 3 Ovid: Cockburn: Epidemiology, Volume 11(2).March 2000.230 5/1/2004 http://gateway2.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi