Early Emphysema Linked to Smoke Exposure

(December 29, 2009) - Smoke in the home may be setting up children for lung problems down the road. Children regularly exposed to tobacco smoke (Read about "Quit Smoking") at home were more likely to develop early emphysema (Read about "Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease") in adulthood. Researchers say this finding suggests that the lungs may not recover completely from the effects of early-life exposures to tobacco smoke (ETS). The study is published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

This population-based research is the first to examine the association of childhood ETS with early emphysema by CT scan (Read about "CT Scan - Computerized Tomography") in nonsmokers. Approximately half of the participants in this large multiethnic group had at least one regular cigarette smoker in their childhood home.

The researchers studied CT scans of 1,781 non-smokers without cardiovascular disease. (Read about "The Heart & Cardiovascular System")

"We were able to detect a difference on CT scans between the lungs of participants who lived with a smoker as a child and those who did not," observed Gina Lovasi, PhD, MPH. "Some known harmful effects of tobacco smoke are short term, and this new research suggests that effects of tobacco smoke on the lungs may also persist for decades."