Evolution of the association between parental and child smoking in Finland between 1977 and 2005.

OBJECTIVES: To study changes in the family smoking profile and in the association between parental and child smoking from 1977 to 2005. METHODS: Data was based on biennial surveys using nationally-representative samples of 14-18-year-old Finns (n=58,279). Response rate ranged between 88% (1977) and 65% (2005). Parental smoking categories were: two smoking parents, smoking father, smoking mother, both currently non-smokers but one or both ex-smokers, and two never-smoking parents. Child smoking categories were: experimental, daily, and never. Associations between parental and child smoking were examined using multinomial logistic regression models. RESULTS: Over the study period, the proportion of never-smoking families (child and parents never-smokers) increased (9% vs. 18%). Age, sex, family structure, and survey decade adjusted odds ratios for child's daily smoking were 6.9 (95% CI: 6.4, 7.5) when both parents smoked, 4.7 (95% CI: 4.3, 5.2) when mother smoked, 3.8 (95% CI: 3.5, 4.1) when father smoked, and 2.8 (95% CI: 2.6, 2.9) when one/both were ex-smokers compared with children of never-smoking parents. Only a few non-systematic interactions between parental smoking and survey decade were found. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of totally smoke-free families increased substantially. Association between parental and child smoking persisted strong and mainly similar over time.

Teenage pregnancies and abortions in Finland in the 1990s.

AIMS: This study analyses trends and regional variation in teenage pregnancy, abortion, and fertility rates in Finland in the 1990s, by single-year age group. METHODS: Individual-level data from Finnish abortion and birth registers maintained by the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES) were used to calculate the rates and the abortion ratio. The abortion ratio was also calculated using conception as the time reference. RESULTS: Teenage pregnancy rates and abortion rates reverted from decrease to increase in the mid-1990s. This was accompanied by an increase in the share of teenage pregnancies that ended in an abortion. The increase in abortions started first among older teenagers, and spread gradually to younger girls. Regional variation in the rates remained the same throughout the study period. CONCLUSIONS: The observed trends reflect a change towards less effective use of contraceptive methods among teenagers. There is also evidence of the earlier start of teenage sexual activity at the end of the 1990s. The possible explanations for less effective contraceptive use include cutbacks in healthcare and family planning services in the first half of the 1990s and the reduction of sex education in schools.