Children whose fathers were passive smokers in childhood are more likely to develop asthma, according to a long-term study conducted by scientists at the University of Melbourne. The risk is even greater in children who are active smokers.
Children of passive smokers are more likely to develop asthma
Published Sept. 19, 2022 12:20
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The risk of non-allergic asthma in children increases by 59% if their fathers were exposed to passive smoking as a child, compared to children whose fathers were not exposed to it, says Jiacheng Liu, one of the authors of the report./p>
He added that the risk rose to 72% if the father was also a smoker. Prof. Shyamali Dharmage, who led the Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study (TAHS) from 1968, which provided data for the report, estimates that the underlying cause of asthma-inducing damage in subsequent generations may be epigenetic changes that affect gene activity.
- It is possible that tobacco smoke is causing epigenetic changes in the cells that will produce sperm when boys grow up. These changes can then be transferred to their children - explains prof. Shyamali Dharmage.
The TAHS survey was conducted on a sample of almost 1.7 thousand. people: children, their parents and grandparents. It is one of the largest and longest-lasting respiratory studies in the world.
