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CDC, ATSDR

Toxicant and Disease Database

The CHE Toxicant and Disease Database is a searchable database that summarizes links between chemical contaminants and approximately 180 human diseases or conditions. Diseases and or toxicants can be viewed by utilizing the search options below. See a full description of the database and our methodology.

See also our compilation of other Databases and Resources

For questions or comments about the database, please contact us through our Contact form.

tobacco smoke (secondhand)

Diseases linked to this toxicant    Grouped by strength of evidence

Strong Evidence

Asthma - irritant

Breast cancer

Cerebrovascular disease (stroke)

Coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, atherosclerosis

Immune suppression

Low birth weight / small for gestational age / intra-uterine growth retardation

Lung cancer

Myocardial infarction (heart attack)

Nasopharyngeal / sino-nasal cancer

Preterm delivery

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Good Evidence

ADD/ADHD, hyperactivity

Brain cancer - childhood

Bronchitis - chronic

Cervical cancer

Childhood leukemias

Cognitive impairment (includes impaired learning, impaired memory, and decreased attention span) / mental retardation / developmental delay

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

Fetotoxicity (miscarriage / spontaneous abortion, stillbirth)

Hormonal changes (levels of circulating sex hormones - FSH/LH, Inhibin, and/or estrogens, progesterones, androgens, prolactin)

Lymphoma (non-Hodgkin's)

Menstrual disorders (abnormal bleeding, short cycles, long cycles, irregular cycles, painful periods)

Reduced fertility - female (infertility and subfertility)

Reduced fertility - male (infertility and subfertility)

References for our 2011 disease list

Betts KS. Secondhand suspicions: breast cancer and passive smoking. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2007 Mar;115(3):136–A143.

Braun JM, Kahn RS, Froehlich T, Auinger P, Lanphear BP. Exposures to environmental toxicants and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in US children. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2006 Dec;114(12):1904-9.

DeBruin LS, Josephy PD. Perspectives on the chemical etiology of breast cancer. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2002 Feb;110 Suppl 1:119-28.

Dybing E, Sanner T. Passive smoking, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and childhood infections. Human and Experimental Toxicology. 1999 Apr;18(4):202-5.

Greenlee AR, Arbuckle TE, Chyou PH. Risk factors for female infertility in an agricultural region. Epidemiology. 2003; 14(4):429-436.

Iribarren C, Darbinian J, Klatsky AL, Friedman GD. Cohort study of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and risk of first ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack. Neuroepidemiology 2004 Jan;23(1-2):38-44.

Klaassen CD, Ed. Casarett and Doull's Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons, 6th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill 2001.

LaDou J, Ed. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 3rd Edition. New York: Lange Medical/McGraw-Hill Company, 2004.

Rom WM. Environmental and Occupational Medicine, 3rd Edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Publishers, 1998.