Passive smoking: it is associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis and fracture
,
The risk of osteoporosis and
osteoporotic fracture is increased in people exposed to secondhand smoke,
according to a U.S. study involving a Japanese population, presented at the
congress of the International Osteoporosis Foundation in Toronto.
Bone mineral density decreases
A meta-analysis confirmed that
smoking was a risk factor for fracture, but the impact of passive smoking on
bone health has not yet been studied, indicate Yu-Hsiang Hsu, Harvard School of
Public Health in Boston and colleagues, in the summary of their poster.
The researchers evaluated the impact
in 7095 men, 4259 premenopausal women and 2,022 postmenopausal women aged 25-64
years living in rural China. Exposure to passive smoking was defined by the
presence of a spouse or other family member smoking daily.
The risk of low bone mineral density
(BMD) was increased with passive smoking for men and premenopausal women, but
not postmenopausal women.
Thus, compared to non-smokers not
exposed to passive smoking, non-smoking premenopausal women saw their risk of
osteoporosis multiplied by 2.6 if only one family member smoked daily, and 3.0
times from two smoking family members. Their risk of fracture was 2.6 times
when at least two family members were smokers.
The authors report for smokers and
people exposed to secondhand smoke, compared to non-smokers exposed to a risk
of 1.8 times the risk of osteoporosis and osteopenia multiplied by 1.3.
These results are consistent with
the hypothesis of an alteration with passive smoking levels of estrogen
hormones key to bone health, says Dr. Hsu said in a statement. He says he plans
to conduct a follow-up study to correlate serum levels of cotinine, a nicotine
derivative which appears only in the blood of people exposed to cigarette smoke,
and hormone levels.
Lower BMD in young men
Another study presented at this
conference shows, meanwhile, that active smoking is associated with lower BMD
in young men.
This association was demonstrated in
the elderly, but the results were controversial among adolescents emphasize
Mattias Lorentzon and colleagues at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, in
the summary of their oral communication.
The GOOD study evaluated 1,068 men
aged 18 to 20 years. The researchers found that smokers had a lower than
non-smokers at the whole body (-2.1%) BMD of the lumbar spine (-4.3%) and
femoral neck (-5.3 %).
They also determined, through
three-dimensional images obtained, that smoking mainly affected the cortical
portion of the bone, by reducing its thickness and thus potentially affect the
resistance of the bone.
Author: Mohammad
Mohammad is the founder of STC Network which offers Web Services and Online Business Solutions to clients around the globe. Read More →