Teen smokers have thicker artery walls, indicating the early development of atherosclerosis, which is a chronic condition that remains asymptomatic for decades. Advanced atherosclerosis can lead to catastrophic events such as the slowing or stopping of blood flow, which then leads to the death of whatever body tissue that artery is feeding. If that artery is feeding the heart, it will result in myocardial infarction (heart attack), and if it is feeding the brain, the result is a stroke. As an adolescent, catastrophes like these are highly unlikely. But if that individual is a smoker, they may have inadvertently put their arteries on the path that can lead to disaster in the future.
Teen smokers have thicker artery walls, indicating the early development of atherosclerosis, which is a chronic condition that remains asymptomatic for decades. Advanced atherosclerosis can lead to catastrophic events such as the slowing or stopping of blood flow, which then leads to the death of whatever body tissue that artery is feeding. If that artery is feeding the heart, it will result in myocardial infarction (heart attack), and if it is feeding the brain, the result is a stroke. As an adolescent, catastrophes like these are highly unlikely. But if that individual is a smoker, they may have inadvertently put their arteries on the path that can lead to disaster in the future.
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Exposure to tobacco smoke has long been associated with adverse health outcomes for children and adolescents. For a pregnant woman, it can often lead to low birth weight, and for the child, impaired lung growth and function. A new study, for the first time, looked at how passive and active smoking by adolescents affects their cardiovascular health.
This health research was presented by the Swiss Dr. Julia Dratva based on the findings from the Sapaldia Youth Study. This study was conducted in Switzerland with nearly 10,000 individuals between age 8 and 20. Its goal was to find the link between smoking and carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT), the precursor to atherosclerosis.
For the purpose of the study, Dr. Dratva selected 288 subjects of the Sapaldia study. Regular current smoking (daily/weekly) was reported by 11 percent of them, and 15 percent reported infrequent smoking (monthly). Exposure to passive smoke, also known as second-hand smoke, was reported by 31 percent. 25 percent of the kids reported living in a house where the parent smoked.
After all other health factors were accounted for, levels of CIMT were measured in the test subjects. The analysis showed a significant effect of regular smoking. "Smoking duration was positively associated with CIMT, showing that the longer subjects smoked, the greater their carotid artery intima-media thickness," said Dr. Dratva.
"Our study in adolescents addresses important early risk factors of cardiovascular health in adolescents," she continued. "After a relatively short duration of active smoking, the vascular structure already shows signs of structural changes, compared to non-smoking adolescents. These results give evidence of an early adverse impact of active tobacco exposure on the vasculature, which is indicative of early development of atherosclerosis. Urgent action is needed to help adolescent smokers kick the habit and stop others from taking up smoking. More research is required to determine whether the damage to the vascular structure of smoking adolescents is reversible if they quit smoking."
This report was presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Munich.
Teen Smoking image via Shutterstock
