Related Experiment Videos
Lipoprotein and oxygen transport alterations in passive smoking preadolescent children. The MCV Twin Study
W B Moskowitz1, M Mosteller, R M Schieken
1Children's Medical Center, Department of Human Genetics of the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond.
Insights
Lifelong passive smoke exposure, mainly from mothers, alters oxygen transport and lowers beneficial cholesterol in children. This increases their risk for early coronary heart disease.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Cardiovascular Toxicology
Background:
- Childhood exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is a significant public health concern.
- Long-term passive smoking's impact on pediatric cardiovascular health remains incompletely understood.
- Identifying early cardiovascular risk factors in children is crucial for preventing adult heart disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cardiovascular effects of lifelong passive cigarette smoke exposure in preadolescent children.
- To determine if systemic oxygen transport is altered by passive smoke exposure.
- To assess the impact of passive smoke exposure on coronary heart disease risk factors in children.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 216 families from the MCV Twin Study, with 105 having at least one smoking parent.
- Measured smoke exposure using serum thiocyanate and cotinine levels, correlating with parental smoking.
- Analyzed whole blood 2,3-diphosphoglycerate and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol subfractions (HDL2, HDL3).
Main Results:
- Serum thiocyanate levels were proportional to the number of parental cigarettes smoked daily, primarily linked to maternal smoking.
- Smoke-exposed children exhibited higher whole blood 2,3-diphosphoglycerate levels, indicating altered oxygen transport.
- Passive smoking was associated with lower HDL cholesterol, with specific subfraction reductions in boys (HDL2) and girls (HDL3).
Conclusions:
- Long-term passive cigarette smoke exposure, particularly from maternal smoking, causes significant adverse alterations in systemic oxygen transport and lipoprotein profiles in preadolescent children.
- These early cardiovascular changes suggest an elevated risk for the development of premature coronary heart disease in children exposed to passive smoke.
- Findings underscore the importance of smoke-free environments for pediatric cardiovascular health and disease prevention.
Abstract:
We investigated the cardiovascular effects of lifelong passive cigarette smoke exposure in preadolescent children and examined the following questions: 1) Is systemic oxygen transport altered? 2) Are coronary heart disease risk factors adversely affected? We recruited 216 families from the MCV Twin Study; 105 had at least one smoking parent. Serum thiocyanate and cotinine levels were used as measures of smoke exposure in the children and thiocyanate was proportional to the number of parental cigarettes smoked each day (p = 0.0001). Paternal smoking had no effect on these measures. Whole blood 2,3-diphosphoglycerate was higher in smoke-exposed than unexposed children (p less than 0.01) and was related to the thiocyanate level (p less than 0.02). High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was lower in passive smoking children (p less than 0.05); the HDL2 subfraction was reduced in passive smoking boys, while the HDL3 subfraction was reduced in passive smoking girls. Significant adverse alterations in systemic oxygen transport and lipoprotein profiles are already present in preadolescent children exposed to long-term passive cigarette smoke, primarily from maternal smoke. Children with long-term exposure to passive smoke may be at elevated risk for the development of premature coronary heart disease.