• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, August 28, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Unknown exposure to second-hand smoke associated with increased mortality

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
September 27, 2016
in Health
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

A new biomarker has identified known and unknown exposure to second-hand smoke and confirmed a strong association to increased mortality in non-smokers, according to a new study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The results, published this month in the journal Carcinogenesis, provide a more accurate way to gauge second-hand smoke exposure than questionnaires, and present a strong case for more stringent limits on smoking and increased preventive screenings for those more likely to have been exposed to second-hand smoke.

smokr

Researchers used serum cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, as a biological marker of exposure to second-hand smoke and linked National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data to overall and cause-specific mortality in 20,175 non-smokers. After adjustment for sex, education, race/ethnicity, body mass index, and smoking habits, their analysis showed a significant increase in years of life lost (YLL) across cotinine concentrations. In the adjusted analysis, the lowest quartile of cotinine concentration — below the detectable level — was associated with 5.6 YLL while the highest quartile was linked to 7.5 YLL.

“A crucial finding of this study is that non-smokers are exposed to second-hand smoke without even realizing it,” said Raja Flores, MD, Professor and Chair of Thoracic Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Questionnaires show that responders do not know they were exposed to smoke, but cotinine blood levels are more accurate in determining their exposure and subsequent risk of lung cancer and other smoking-related disease.”

Further analysis among non-smokers who reported no exposure to second-hand smoke and had cotinine levels below race-specific cutoffs found that the association between exposure and mortality remained similar to observations in subjects who reported exposure. Specifically, increases in serum cotinine were statistically significantly associated with lung cancer, all cancers, and heart disease.

“Using cotinine level to measure exposure to second-hand smoke has important public health implications, because increasing the scope of smoke-free environments would likely decrease cotinine levels in the general population and ultimately death,” said Emanuela Taioli, MD, PhD, Director of the Institute for Translation Epidemiology at Mount Sinai. “Exposure to second-hand smoke is unequally distributed in the population. Children, non-Hispanic blacks, people living in poverty, and those who rent their housing are disproportionally affected and most vulnerable.”

Additionally, previous studies have shown that cars, public housing, and multi-unit housing structures are more likely to be sites of second-hand smoke exposure. Currently, federal or state anti-smoking laws do not regulate these locations.

The number of years lost in the population with detectable cotinine but unrecognized second-hand smoke exposure suggests that the economic toll of second-hand smoke may be substantially higher than that reported based on questionnaire data alone. Establishing a relationship between low levels of second-hand smoke exposure and increased YLL offers further evidence that stricter legislation establishing smoke-free areas, together with education efforts in low-income and minority communities, is needed.

Web Source: Mount Sinai Health System.

Reference:

Raja M Flores, Bian Liu, Emanuela Taioli. Association of serum cotinine levels and lung cancer mortality in non-smokers. Carcinogenesis, 2016; bgw094 DOI: 10.1093/carcin/bgw094

The post Unknown exposure to second-hand smoke associated with increased mortality appeared first on Scienmag.

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Maximizing Liver Graft Use from Circulatory Death Donors

August 28, 2025

Borosilicate Glass Enhances Magnetic Hyperthermia Against Bone Tumors

August 28, 2025

Gastrointestinal Effects of Incretin Obesity Drugs Explored

August 28, 2025

Zharp1-163: Dual Inhibitor Tackles Inflammation, Kidney Injury

August 28, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    150 shares
    Share 60 Tweet 38
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    142 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    115 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    82 shares
    Share 33 Tweet 21

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Uncovered: Genetic Changes That Transformed Wild Horses into Rideable Companions

Maximizing Liver Graft Use from Circulatory Death Donors

Exploring Cellular Diversity Throughout Fruit Fly Metamorphosis

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.