Long-term exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) during childhood increases the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) death in adulthood, according to a new study.
Long-term exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) during childhood increases the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) death in adulthood, according to a new study, which also suggests secondhand smoke exposure in adulthood increases the risk of death not only from COPD but also from ischemic heart disease and stroke.
This is the first study to identify an association between childhood SHS and later COPD death in adulthood, according to the researchers. The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Secondhand smoke is harmful to the respiratory and vascular systems in both children and adults. The harmful effects of exposure to secondhand smoke from cigarettes has been documented by CDC for decades, and was suspected shortly after the seminal 1964 report, “Smoking and Health.”
Subsequent reports outlined how secondhand smoke causes sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory infections, ear infections, and asthma attacks in infants and children. Adults face risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer, which has prompted efforts to ban smoking in restaurants and casinos to protect workers. According to CDC, no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure exists.
But it is unknown whether childhood exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with mortality in adulthood. Researchers examined associations of childhood and adult secondhand smoke exposure with death from all causes, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among 70,900 never-smoking men and women from the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, which is funded and maintained by the American Cancer Society.
Study participants, primarily ages 50 to 74 at the beginning of the study, answered questions about their secondhand smoke exposure during childhood and as adults and were followed for 22 years.
Those who lived with a daily smoker throughout their childhood had 31% higher mortality from COPD compared to those who did not.
In addition, secondhand smoke exposure (10 or more hours/week) as an adult was associated with a 9% higher risk of all-cause mortality, a 27% higher risk of death from ischemic heart disease, a 23% higher risk of death from stroke, and a 42% higher risk of death from COPD.
Although the study counted only deaths, the increase in fatal COPD implies that living with a smoker during childhood could also increase risk of non-fatal COPD, according to W. Ryan Diver, MSPH, a lead author of the study. "Overall, our findings provide further evidence for reducing secondhand smoke exposure throughout life,” he said in a statement.
Diver said the increase in COPD mortality corresponds to about 7 additional deaths per year per 100,000 never-smoking study participants.
Reference
Diver R, Jacobs EJ, Gapstur SM. Secondhand smoke exposure in childhood and adulthood in relation to adult mortality among never smokers. Am J Prev Med. 2018;55(3):345-352 doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2018.05.005.
Dose-Escalation, Low-Dose Regimens May Improve Roflumilast Treatment Adherence in Patients With COPD
March 24th 2024This study suggests that dose-escalation or low-dose regimens for roflumilast treatment in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may improve adherence.
Read More
A Pulmonologist on Why You Should Think About Respiratory Health and the Lungs
November 16th 2021On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with MeiLan K. Han, MD, MS, the author of a book released this month called Breathing Lessons: A Doctor’s Guide to Lung Health. Han, a pulmonologist, gives an inside tour of the lungs and how they work, zooms out to examine the drivers of poor respiratory health, and addresses policy changes that are needed to improve lung health.
Listen
Similar In-Hospital, Long-Term Survival Rates Found Among Male, Female Patients With AECOPD
March 18th 2024This study analyzed sex differences among patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), with findings indicating that female smokers experience worse hospital outcomes despite similar overall survival rates.
Read More
Frailty, Depression Can Affect Social Support, Self-Management in Older Patients With COPD
March 8th 2024Self-management (SM) among older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is moderately low, and frailty and depression may partially mediate the relationship between social support and SM in these patients.
Read More