Passive Smoke Exposure Increases Fatness, Slows Cognition in Children

According to recent study exposure to passive smoke is connected with a larger waist and lesser cognition in kids, researchers say.

According to Dr. Catherine Davis, corresponding author of the study in the journal Childhood Obesity said,

The take home message is that for these kids, smoke subjection was linked to two main negative health outcomes, one over the neck and one below the neck.

Investigators looked at passive smoke exposure in 220 overweight or obese 7 to 11 year old boys and girls. They identified smoke subjection connected with almost all measures of adiposity in the kids, which includes bigger bellies and overall fat. And every single one of our cognitive measures was poorer in kids subjected to passive smoke.

Percentages of body fat in kids subjected to passive smoke were considerably higher than in their also heavy peers, further increasing their threat of cardiovascular problems, diabetes and more. While research, which includes Davis’ at MCG, have demonstrated a connection between overweight and decreased cognitive function, this research identified passive smoke had an effect on cognition that was independent of fat or socioeconomic status.

Study co-author S. Tingen said,

Passive smoking makes worse all the bad things fat does to us. And kids who were subjected to passive smoke scored lesser on all cognitive exams, shortfalls that can translate to a lesser attention period and reduced grades in the classroom and on standardized assessments. “We are talking about a recipe for an unhealthy kid who turns into an unhealthy adult who can’t reach their full potential.”

Tailored interventions covering nutrition, physical exercise and tobacco use in kids and their family members affected by these adverse health scenarios are required to prevent adverse outcomes, the investigators said. “Doesn’t everybody want their kids to be as smart and healthy as they can possibly be?” questioned Davis.

Tingen notices that kids generally don’t have choices about smoke exposure and parents who smoke are showing a poor health behavior choice that is placing themselves and their kids at physical and mental disadvantage life time.

To help make sure appropriate data, investigators gathered both parental reports of their kid’s smoke exposure along with blood levels of cotinine, the main metabolite of nicotine, which is usually used as a definitive test of smoking or passive smoke subjection. MCG investigators also examined levels of physical exercise, which can effect fatness, sleep and diabetes risk.

They identified surprisingly that passive smoke subjection did not seem to worsen breathing issues, such as snoring and short periods of not breathing while the kids slept. It also showed up irrelevant – at least at this early age – to pre-diabetes, insulin resistance and fat all over internal organs in the abdomen. Fat all over the organs is regarded an especially high-risk factor for vascular problems and diabetes and finally heart disease and stroke. However, the bigger waist size identified in the kids subjected to smoke also is regarded a risk factor for these obesity-related health issues.

Their results recommend that at this age, passive smoke may have more impact on the volume of body fat instead of the metabolic dysfunction, like as diabetes, that fat may gradually cause, Davis said.

Davis observed that 28% of the kids in the research were previously pre-diabetic, but that the incidence was basically a little bit higher in the kids who were not subjected to passive smoke.

Earlier studies, which usually depended completely on parent reports of smoke exposure, have generated inconclusive results about the connection between passive smoke and obesity. Davis noted around 25% discrepancy in their research between what parents reported and what their blood analysis revealed. The biggest difference was in parents reporting there was not a smoker in the home while the kid’s blood revealed smoke exposure. But, there were also 18 kids whose parents claimed a smoker but the kid’s blood held no proof of exposure.

Adult research has shown an association in between passive smoke exposure and type 2 diabetes. Research that measured cotinine levels have identified connections between passive smoke subjection and worse cognition and sleep.

The study was backed by the National Institutes of Health and the East Georgia Cancer Coalition.