Study: Passive Smoke Harms Kids’ Arteries

Exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to artery damage by the teen years, new research has found. The study included 494 children, ages 8 through 13. They were given regular blood tests for cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine. They also received ultrasound scans to measure thickness of arteries in the chest and neck. By age 13, those exposed to secondhand smoke tended to have thicker arteries. This a sign of damage that can lead to clogging of arteries. Children with more smoke exposure also had higher levels of apolipoprotein B. This blood protein is one part of LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol. Another test showed that teens exposed to more smoke had reduced function of arteries in the upper arm. The study appeared in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. HealthDay and Reuters news services wrote about it March 2.