[Children who work on the streets of Tijuana. An epidemiological profile and the prevalence of experimentation with tobacco]. / Los niños que trabajan en las calles de Tijuana. Perfil epidemiológico y prevalencia de experimentación con tabaco.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To develop an epidemiological profile of children that work in the streets of Tijuana, Mexico, and to determine the prevalence of cigarette smoking in this group, as well as the prevalence of those factors associated with tobacco experimentation. STUDY TYPE cross-sectional. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Children aged 8 through 15, who work in the streets of Tijuana were included. Demographic, socioeconomic, and smoking related variables were analyzed. RESULTS: The study included 110 children, with a mean age of 11.43 years. Of these 91.7% live with one or both of their parents; 60% attend school and an additional 30% did so in the past. Only 6.4% of these children are the principal economic support of the household, and 51.8% reported an average daily income of $US 10 or less. Only 9.1% reported experimentation with tobacco, and 31% of them tobacco prompting (in the form of lighting up a cigarette) by an adult of the family; this is significantly more frequent on behalf of the father than of the mother (21.8% vs 4.5% p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Most of the children under 15 years of age who work in the streets of Tijuana live with their parents and maintain close relationships with their family. Most of them attend school and work in the streets only to complement the family income. Their tobacco experimentation is not greater than that of other children of the same age group.