Children exposed to passive smoking may be at an increased risk of contracting invasive meningococcal disease - one of the leading causes of bacterial meningitis, a new study suggests.

Invasive meningococcal disease is most commonly seen in children and young adults. It is highly contagious and potentially life threatening. In fact, according to the UK scientists who carried out this research, one in 20 people will die from this disease even if they receive medical treatment, while one in six will be left with a severe disability, such as hearing loss, loss of a limb or a mental disability.

Previous studies have linked passive smoking to this disease, so the scientists decided to investigate this further. They carried out a detailed analysis of 18 studies, all of which looked at the link between passive smoking and invasive meningococcal disease in children.

The study found that children who were exposed to passive smoking in the home had double the risk of contracting invasive meningococcal disease. Furthermore, this risk was even higher among children under the age of five and children who were born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy.

"While we cannot be sure exactly how tobacco smoke is affecting these children, the findings from this study highlight consistent evidence of the further harms of smoking around children and during pregnancy, and thus parents and family members should be encouraged to not smoke in the home or around children," commented Dr Rachael Murray of the University of Nottingham.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, BMC Public Health.