Tied secondhand smoke in childhood lung ... - Fitness For Health

One study found an almost double risk for respiratory disease.

Children exposed to secondhand smoke are nearly twice as likely to develop lung disease called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adulthood, a new study finds.

COPD is a term used for a variety of conditions, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.


In the study, Norwegian researchers looked at 433 adult patients with COPD and 325 adults without the disease to assess risk factors for the condition, which causes breathing difficulties and worse over time.

Women exposed to secondhand smoke in childhood were 1.9 times more risk of developing lung disease than those not exposed, whereas in men exposed to secondhand smoke in childhood risk was between 1.5 and 1.7 times higher than among those not exposed, the researchers found.

In general, childhood exposure to secondhand smoke was a risk factor for developing more powerful COPD that exposure to secondhand smoke in adulthood, according to the report, published in a recent online edition of the journal Respirology.

?Our results suggest that long-term burden of COPD could be reduced if children were exposed to cigarette smoke,? they said in a news release from the journal study author Ane Johannessen and colleagues at the Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway. ?Moreover, they indicate that the factors affecting the development of lung function in early life have important long-term consequences for adult life.?

Although the study found an association between exposure to secondhand smoke in childhood and COPD in adults, did not prove a causal relationship.

Source: http://corefitnessandhealth.com/2012/03/tied-secondhand-smoke-in-childhood-lung-disease-years-later.html

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