The relative risk of developing carotid atherosclerotic plaque in adulthood was nearly twice as high in children exposed to one or two parental smokers (relative risk = 1.7, P = .04), compared with children whose parents did not smoke, according to research published in Circulation.
Study coauthor Costan Magnussen, Ph.D., of the University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia, and his associates assessed long-term risks associated with pediatric exposure to parental cigarette smoking by measuring data from blood samples collected from 1,578 participants enrolled in the long-term Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. Data from samples frozen in 1980 and 1983 were compared with carotid ultrasound data collected in adulthood in 2001 and 2007.
©Peter Mathew/AHA
Dr. Costan Magnussen
Children whose parents smoked had higher blood levels of serum cotinine, a biomarker of passive smoke exposure, than their peers. Among those subjects, children whose parents exercised good “smoking hygiene,” or not smoking in the presence of the child, tended to be at a lower risk for developing carotid plaque than participants with parents who had bad smoking hygiene (RR = 1.6, P = .34) and (RR =4.0, P = .002), respectively. “Not smoking at all was by far the safest option, but for those parents who find it difficult not to smoke, they can at least lessen the deleterious effects of their smoking on the future cardiovascular health of their offspring by smoking more hygienically,” the investigators wrote.
The Young Finns Study was supported by a variety of grants and foundations. The authors said they had no conflicts of interest.
Read the full article here in Circulation: (doi:10.1161/circulationaha.114.013485).