Medical News
Second-hand smoke increases asthma risk across generations
The study shows that smoking has negative effects even for children and grandchildren of those who breathed it during childhood
Children whose fathers have been exposed to second-hand smoke in their infancy are at greater risk of developing asthma , suggesting that smoking has negative effects that can affect people for generations .
And the chances of developing asthma were further increased if fathers who were exposed to second-hand smoke later became smokers .
“ We found the risk of non-allergic asthma in children increases by �9 percent if their fathers were exposed to second-hand smoke in childhood , compared to children whose fathers were not exposed , � Liu Jiacheng , one of the University of Melbourne researchers who led the study , said in a press release . �The risk was even higher , at �2 percent , if the fathers were exposed to second-hand smoke and went on to smoke themselves .”
This means that even fathers who couldn ’ t avoid second-hand smoke exposure could still limit the chances of their children and grandchildren developing asthma by deciding not to smoke .
Asthma is a long-term condition where air passages in the lungs narrow due to in�ammation , leading to intermittent symptoms like cough , whee�e , shortness of breath , and chest tightness . It affected 2�2 million people in 20�9 , according to the World Health Organization , and it ’ s the most common chronic disease among children .
Researchers scoured data of 1,689 children from the Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study ( TAHS ), along with information about their fathers and paternal grandparents , and checked which children had developed asthma by the age of seven and whether their fathers lived with parents who were smoking before they were �� .
It isn ’ t clear how smoking can increase asthma risk , but researchers speculate it could be due to epigenetic changes or the way the environment and our habits affect the work of genes .
�This is where factors in our environment , such as tobacco smoke , interact with our genes to modify their expression . These changes can be inherited but may be partially reversible for each generation ,” University of Melbourne Professor Shyamali Dharmage , who led TAHS , said in the press release . “ It ’ s possible that tobacco smoke is creating epigenetic changes in the cells that will go on to produce sperm when boys grow up . These changes can then be passed on to their children .”
The researchers now aim to find out whether the risk of getting asthma is increased even in adulthood and whether fathers exposed to second-hand smoke could also have children with increased risk of allergies and other lung diseases .
Jon Foster , the health policy manager at Asthma + Lung UK , told the Guardian : “ This research is truly shocking , showing that the negative effects of smoking can last for generations . The fact that children born today have a �9 percent increased risk of developing asthma if their father was exposed to passive smoking as a child shows the huge impact smoking has on other people ’ s health .”
Chances of developing asthma were further increased if fathers who were exposed to second-hand smoke later became smokers .
24 SEPTEMBER 2022 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com