Originally published August 15 2005
Secondhand smoke raises the chances of developing metabolic syndrome, study says
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Metabolic syndrome, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Rocherster in New York, can be caused in teens by secondhand smoke.
People trying to stop teens from smoking may have a new weapon -- a study showing that even secondhand smoke raises the risk of metabolic syndrome, a condition marked by obesity, high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol levels and pre-diabetes.
The American Heart Association estimates that 47 million U.S. adults have metabolic syndrome, which greatly raises the odds of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
"This is the first study to link this syndrome, which most people associate with obesity, to secondhand smoke," Dr. Michael Weitzman of the University of Rochester in New York, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.
"All things equal, you are almost five times more likely to develop the metabolic syndrome if you are exposed to secondhand smoke," Weitzman added.
For the study, Weitzman's team looked at interviews of 2,273 adolescents aged 12 to 19 done as part of the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Overall 5.6 percent of adolescents had metabolic syndrome, including 1.2 percent of those with no exposure to smoke, as defined by their own reports and by measuring levels of a chemical byproduct of nicotine called cotinine in their blood.
More than 5 percent of those whose cotinine levels suggested smoke exposure had metabolic syndrome, and 8.7 percent of those who actively smoked had metabolic syndrome.
The researchers found that 23.6 percent of overweight teen smokers had metabolic syndrome.
"The problem is that 17-year-olds have trouble understanding the implications for 30 years later."
But Weitzman said it is clear that teens who associate with smokers are also in danger -- a message that may get through to teen smokers.
"It is not just that they are harming themselves by smoking.
"This is a group in which it is profoundly important to reduce secondhand smoke exposure and active smoking," Weitzman said.
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