Originally published January 15 2006
Study reveals how second-hand smoke damages the health of children exposed to it in their homes
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Frank D. Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D, of the Keck School of Medicine, discusses research that discovered the negative effects of second hand smoke in the home environment upon the health of children.
Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine report children with a specific genetic makeup are at greater risk of chest infections and other respiratory illnesses due to second-hand smoke exposure.
The scientists report that children who have a variation in a key gene and who live in a home with smokers are four times more likely to miss school days because of lower-respiratory illness than children who don't have the genetic variation and live in smoke-free homes.
Frank D. Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D., says, "Parents or others who choose to smoke around children are causing illness and school absences, potentially affecting how well the children do in school."
In the study, researchers examined the gene called tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha.
This particular gene is tied to the body's inflammatory response to chemicals such as those found in second-hand smoke.
About 24 percent of the children had a variation in at least one of their two copies of the TNF-alpha gene.
The group finds that 20 percent of children live with second-hand smoke, and nearly 6 percent of children live with two or more smokers.
Children who breath second-hand smoke at home are 51 percent more likely than those in non-smoking homes to call in sick from school due to a lower-respiratory illness, regardless of their genetic makeup.
However, the carcinogenic effect of tobacco influence is even more pronounced when researchers begin looking at TNF-alpha gene.
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