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Persistent Smoking From Childhood to Age 24 Linked to Cardiac Injury

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Dec 13, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2024 -- Persistent smoking from age 10 through 24 years is associated with increased odds of premature cardiac and structural injury, according to a study published online Dec. 11 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Andrew O. Agbaje, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., from the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, examined the longitudinal association of tobacco smoking with structural and functional cardiac injury. A total of 1,931 young adults with complete smoking and echocardiographic measures at age 24 were included.

Agbaje found that at ages 10, 13, 15, 17, and 24 years, the prevalence of smoking was 0.3, 1.6, 13.6, 24, and 26.4 percent, respectively. From 17 to 24 years, there were increases in the prevalence of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (from 2.8 to 7.5 percent) and LV diastolic dysfunction (from 10.4 to 16.9 percent). After full adjustment for covariates, persistent smoking from 10 through 24 years was associated with increased LV mass indexed for height (LVMI). In both unadjusted and adjusted models, persistent smoking from childhood was associated with an increase in LVMI from ages 17 to 24 years. Higher odds of LV hypertrophy, high relative wall thickness, LV diastolic dysfunction, and high LV filling pressure at 24 years were seen in association with persistent smoking from childhood through young adulthood in a fully adjusted model (odds ratios, 1.52, 1.38, 1.33, and 1.35, respectively).

"The current findings provide data for policymakers, clinicians, and public health practitioners on crucial timing for preventing smoking and its early consequences in youth," Agbaje writes.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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Posted December 2024

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