Passive Smokers, Hypertension Vulnerable

A study showed, children affected by cigarette smoke are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure.


"Children are classified as passive smokers, particularly men, are more susceptible to high blood pressure compared with girls," said researchers in a study reported by the Daily Mail.
In the first study, researchers found that boys who breathe secondhand smoke at home may experience high blood pressure increased significantly. However, in girls, passive smoking seems to be associated with decreased blood pressure.
Research involving more than 6,400 children shows that, boys aged 8-17 years who are exposed to tobacco smoke have blood pressure that is significantly higher than those who do not inhale cigarette smoke.
Smoke exposure was associated with systolic blood pressure, which is associated with a spike in blood each time the heart contracts.
U.S. researcher Dr. Jill Baumgartner, of the University of Minnesota, said the finding supports some previous research that suggests that something about the female sex can offer protection from harmful vascular changes due to exposure to secondhand smoke.
While the blood pressure of children who live with smokers increased by 1.6 millimeters of mercury in boys, but decreased to 1.8 millimeters in girls.
"While the increase in blood pressure observed among boys in our study may not be clinically meaningful for an individual child, they have major implications for the population," said Dr Baumgartner.
Dr. Baumgartner added, the relationship between exposure to second hand smoke and blood pressure were observed in our study provides further incentive for the government to support the smoking ban and other laws that protect children from secondhand smoke.
In the meantime, the findings presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Denver, Colorado, U.S. states, researchers analyzed data from four health surveys conducted between 1999 and 2006 by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.