Research

Smoking teenagers make depressed adults
Researchers from Florida State University conducted a groundbreaking study that suggests there might be a link between tobacco consumption during adolescence and depression in adulthood. The study did not use human subjects but instead utilized adolescent rats that have neurobiology similar to that of humans. The study found that nicotine exposure during adolescence led to a depression like state and that depression characteristics emerged as early as one week after final exposure. As little as one day’s exposure to nicotine was enough to illicit the depression response in adulthood. The researchers suggest that nicotine exposure could cause a similar result in humans. Current evidence already suggests a strong link between tobacco consumption and mood disorders. Click here to read more. Click here to read an abstract of the study published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

Smoking in pregnancy cuts blood flow to the fetus
There is extensive evidence that supports that smoking causes low birth weight in newborns but a recent study is one of the first to show a biochemical measure to explain the cause of low birth weight. The study looked at a sample of 266 pregnant women with 182 nonsmokers, 43 smokers and 41 ex-smokers. The newborns of the smokers weighed less, had smaller head size and were shorter compared to the infants born to the never and ex-smokers. The study found that smoking was associated with a 47% decrease in the fetus in levels of protein that relaxes blood vessels and increases blood flow. Smoking during pregnancy was also associated with an 18% decrease in good cholesterol in the fetus. The findings did suggest that smoking cessation early in pregnancy can prevent these negative outcomes in newborns. Click here to read more. Click here to read an abstract of the study in the journal Circulation.

Smoking increases likelihood of RA development
A meta-analysis of sixteen observational studies has revealed that tobacco use is a risk factor for the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disease that causes joint inflammation and bone deterioration. This is consistent with previous studies that have linked smoking to other autoimmune conditions, including systemic lupus erythematosus and Graves’ disease. The study found that male smokers had a risk of developing RA that was almost twice that of non-smoking men. The risk for female smokers was about 1.3 times greater than non-smoking women. The association between smoking and RA was strongest among male smokers who tested positive for rheumatoid factor (RF), a biomarker that is often associated with rheumatoid arthritis. This group’s RA risk was nearly quadrupled over a nonsmoker’s risk. The study concluded that smoking is a significant risk factor for RA development. Click here to read more. Click here to read an abstract of the meta-analysis published in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Lung study another reason to avoid smoking cigarettes
Research from the University of Cincinnati shows that cigarette smoke might actually trigger an immune response in the body that critically damages lung tissue. The immune response triggered is linked the development of chronic pulmonary disease which deteriorates lung function over time. The study used genetically engineered mice to examine this link and  found that when smoke entered the lungs it damaged lung cells sending signals to the immune system that they were damaged and should be destroyed. These results were then compared to the response of cells in human lung tissue samples that had been affected by the disease. The tissue from non-smokers or smokers who had never developed chronic pulmonary disease did not show evidence of this immune response. But lung tissue from current and former smokers who did have the disease showed evidence of the damaging immune signal. The researchers hope that their findings could lead to screening methods and medications for chronic pulmonary disease. The study will be published in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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Effects on smoking linked to accelerated aging protein
A new study published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine shows an association between a key protein that is lost in Werner's syndrome and emphysema.  The decrease of this protein harms lung cells that normally heal wounds.  People with Werner's syndrome begin aging rapidly after adolescence and typically die from cancer or heart disease in their 40s or 50s. Although common knowledge exist that smoking is bad for health, the mechanisms in which smoking effects the body are still under investigation.  To read more, click here.

Young smokers increase risk for Multiple Sclerosis
Research shows that smoking may have a profound effect on young smokers risk in developing Multiple Sclerosis (MS).  The study involved 87 people with MS who were among more than 30,000 people in a larger study. The people with MS were divided into three groups: non-smokers, early smokers (smokers who began before age 17), and late smokers (those who started smoking at 17 or older), and matched by age, gender, and race to 435 people without MS. Results show that early smokers were 2.7 times more likely to develop MS than nonsmokers. Late smokers did not have an increased risk for the disease. More than 32 percent of the MS patients were early smokers, compared to 19 percent of the people without MS.To read more, click here.

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International

Smoking, metabolic problem raises heart risk (China)
Researchers in China conducted a population based study in China to look at the effect that secondhand smoke exposure combined with metabolic syndrome had on the risk of heart disease or stroke in older individuals. Metabolic syndrome is a condition where an individual has three or more risk factors for diabetes and heart disease. Some of the risk factors included in metabolic syndrome diagnosis are abdominal obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar. The study found that metabolic syndrome was associated with increased risk of heart disease and stroke and the risk was greater in current and former smokers when compared to individuals who had never smoked. Additionally, the increased risk of heart disease and stroke from smoking and metabolic syndrome was greater for women than men. The study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Click here to read more.

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