It has long been known that passive smoking not only increases the risk of lung cancer and heart attack.
Now, researchers at the University of Troms have found that women who became passive smokers in childhood were at increased risk of developing breast cancer decades later. Forskning.no.
Norwegian researchers do not hide the fact that they have made astonishing discoveries Courses It has been published in the prestigious medical journal International Journal of Epidemiology.
“As far as we know, our study first assesses the rate of breast cancer in smokers caused by passive smoking from their parents in childhood,” the researchers write.
1 in 10
The study included 45,923 women born between 1929 and 1957 who had never smoked themselves. Two-thirds of them were exposed to passive smoking in childhood.
2185 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 27 years.
Of the 1493 (243/100 000) women with breast cancer who were exposed to secondhand smoke by their parents during childhood, only 692 (217/100 000) cases of breast cancer occurred in respondents. It was not disclosed.
If we look only at the group of parents who were exposed to secondhand smoke in childhood, the researchers may have attributed this manifestation to one in 10 cases of breast cancer.
For a total study population of 46,000 women, researchers found that one in 14 breast cancer cases may be linked to passive smoking in childhood.
This corresponds to seven percent of breast cancer cases, and it is a serious finding that breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in Norway and the most common cancer worldwide.
According to the Cancer Registry, 3424 women in Norway will be diagnosed with breast cancer by 2020.
– Surprise
Biologically, we expected a small increase in the number of breast cancer cases because you would be exposed to many cancers, such as secondhand smoke. Inger Dorhild Gram, a professor at the University of Arctic at UIT Norway and the first author of the study, tells Doklatt that breast tissue is more susceptible to the influence of cancer before and after puberty.
She adds:
– We were surprised to find a strong link between passive smoking and breast cancer, Gram says.
Researchers can check analyzes for age and other established risk factors for breast cancer and compare them directly. These factors include the number of children, first birth age, high BMI, alcohol consumption and immediate family breast cancer, the professor says.
– Positive
In a recent study article, researchers write that the strength of the study is that, after passive smoking from parents in childhood, they saw a higher number of cases of breast cancer. Never smoked.
– There is definitely something positive in our findings. Kids are exposed to passive smoking and something can be done about it. In Norway, we have come a long way when it comes down to it, so we can expect a gradual decline in breast cancer cases in Norway.
She is pleased that their research paper has been published in a prestigious journal such as the International Journal of Epidemiology.
Gram says we would love to read our study in some parts of the world where daily smokers are in high demand.
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