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 Researchers found that never-smokers who had a stroke were nearly 50
percent more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke at home than
people who had never had a stroke.
During the study, stroke survivors exposed to secondhand smoke were
also more likely to die from any cause compared to those without
secondhand smoke exposure.
"Second-hand smoke is a risk to all people, but those with a history
of stroke should take extra care to avoid it," said lead author Dr.
Michelle Lin of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.
One in four nonsmokers (58 million people) in the U.S. are still
exposed to secondhand smoke, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
“While cigarette smoking has long been known to increase the risk of
stroke, less is known about the relationship between secondhand
smoke and stroke,” Lin said by email.
To explore the question, the study team analyzed data on nearly
28,000 never-smokers over age 18 who participated in annual National
Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.
Participants were recruited between 1988 and 1994 and again between
1999 and 2012. They were asked, “Does anyone who lives here smoke
cigarettes, cigars, or pipes anywhere inside this home?”
To gauge the amount of smoke people were exposed to, blood tests for
cotinine, a breakdown product of nicotine, were performed on each
participant.
The researchers also looked at other factors that might influence
stroke risk or likelihood of secondhand smoke exposure like race,
sex, education and income level.
The people most likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke at home
were black men with high alcohol intake and a history of heart
attack who were living in poverty.
Among survey participants between 1999 and 2012, people exposed to
high amounts of secondhand smoke, as measured by blood cotinine,
were 46 percent more likely than those exposed to little or no smoke
to have a history of past stroke.
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In the 1988-1994 group, the results were different, and secondhand
smoke exposure wasn’t linked to increased stroke risk. The study
team writes in the journal Stroke that this difference requires
further investigation.
Among all participants, however, stroke survivors who reported
secondhand smoke exposure were about twice as likely to die of any
cause, compared with stroke survivors not exposed to smoke.
This added risk of death among people with prior stroke increased
along with the amount of smoke exposure.
The same pattern wasn’t seen among people without prior stroke, and
the study team speculates that the reason might be secondhand smoke
most affects people who already have vascular disease, such as those
with a history of prior stroke or heart attack.
“No level of exposure to secondhand smoke is safe,” said Angela
Malek, a researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina who
studies secondhand smoke risk.
Malek noted that in addition to stroke, adults exposed to secondhand
smoke are also at risk for heart disease and lung cancer, while
children may experience asthma and infections.
“Limiting or avoiding areas in which smoking is taking place is
recommended for both children and adults,” Malek said by email. “It
is never too late to start avoiding environmental smoke exposure!”
“Move away from smokers to minimize your exposure to secondhand
smoke,” Lin advised. “Tell smokers that they put everyone else
around them at risk for stroke.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2eP8Vox Stroke, online October 15, 2016.
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