Research

Autoimmune condition, especially combined with smoking and oral contraceptive use, massively increases risk of stroke and heart attack in young women
Researchers have found that women who have lupus anticoagulant (LA) antibodies, signifying a type of autoimmune condition called antiphospholipid syndrome, are at more than a forty-fold increased risk of stroke and a five-fold increased risk of heart attack compared to other women. Antiphospholipid syndrome occurs when autoantibodies interfere with normal blood clotting. Smokers with this condition face even greater cardiovascular risks, with an 87-fold increased risk of a stroke, and 34-fold increased risk of heart attack. The researchers conclude that lupus anticoagulant, particularly combined with other cardiovascular risk factors like smoking, is a major risk factor for strokes and heart attacks among women. The article is published in the November issue of The Lancet Neurology. Click here to read more.

Smoking raises arthritis risk and makes it harder to treat
Three studies presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology suggest that smokers are at an increased risk for rheumatic diseases such as arthritis, and that smoking may worsen these health conditions. Also, smoking during treatment for arthritis may undermine the response to treatment. In a study of women with systemic lupus erythematosus, more of the smokers than nonsmokers had organ damage and disease activity. In another study, former smokers were found to be at an increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis compared to never-smokers. Click here to read more.

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International

Contribution of smoking during pregnancy to inequalities in stillbirth and infant death in Scotland 1994-2003: Retrospective population based study using hospital maternity records (UK)
New research published on bmj.com reports that a considerable amount of the socioeconomic inequality in stillbirths and infant deaths is caused by smoking during pregnancy. The researchers studied records of over 500,000 live births and stillbirths in Scotland from 1994 through 2003 to ascertain mother’s smoking status and socioeconomic status (based on postal code). The results indicated that smoking during pregnancy accounted for 38% of the inequality in stillbirths and 31% of the inequality in infant deaths. Click here to read more, or click here to read the full research article, which was published in the October issue of the British Medical Journal.

Smoking in pregnancy risks psychotic children (UK)
British scientists say that mothers who smoke during pregnancy put their children at greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms as teenagers. Researchers studied 6,356 12-year-olds and interviewed them for psychotic-like symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions. About 19% had mothers who smoked during pregnancy, and just over 11% had suspected or definite symptoms of psychosis. The researchers estimate that about 20% of those youths would not have had these symptoms if their mothers had not smoked during pregnancy. Read more here. Click here to the article in the October issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry.

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