PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Childhood smoking increases a person’s risk of developing COPD

Smoke exposure negatively impacts critical lung development in childhood and adolescence

2025-01-07
(Press-News.org) Miami (January 7, 2025) – Childhood smoking before age 15 increases a person’s risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a new study. The study is published in the November 2024 issue of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal.

COPD is an inflammatory lung disease, comprising several conditions, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and can be caused by genetics and irritants like smoke or pollution. The disease affects more than 30 million Americans and is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.

A previous study using data from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey showed that COPD was more prevalent in adults who began smoking prior to 15 years of age (childhood smoking) compared to those who began after 15 years of age, regardless of their current smoking status and lifetime cigarette use.

In this new study, the authors expanded on previous research and examined whether childhood smoking before age 15 increased the likelihood of a person developing COPD later in life, even after accounting for possible secondhand smoke exposure. The new research examined a nationally representative sample of adults 40 years of age and older from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study.

“Our study suggests that a person with a childhood smoking history has an increased risk of developing COPD, regardless of current smoking status, smoking duration, cigarette pack years and exposure to secondhand smoke,” said Laura M. Paulin, MD, M.H.S, a pulmonologist at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and senior author of the study. “Critical lung development occurs in childhood and early adolescence, making children’s lungs particularly susceptible to damage caused by cigarette smoking. These findings highlight the need for additional public health efforts to reduce, and ultimately prevent, childhood smoking.”

To access current and past issues of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, visit journal.copdfoundation.org.

###

About the COPD Foundation
The COPD Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help millions of people live longer and healthier lives by advancing research, advocacy, and awareness to stop COPD, bronchiectasis, and NTM lung disease. The Foundation does this through scientific research, education, advocacy, and awareness to prevent disease, slow progression, and find a cure. For more information, visit copdfoundation.org, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

MD Anderson and Myriad Genetics form strategic alliance to evaluate clinical utility of Myriad’s molecular residual disease assay

2025-01-07
HOUSTON and SALT LAKE CITY ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Myriad Genetics, Inc. today announced a five-year strategic alliance to accelerate the clinical evaluation and development of Myriad’s molecular residual disease (MRD) assay. This strategic alliance brings together the longstanding oncology diagnostic experience of Myriad Genetics and the clinical and translational research expertise of MD Anderson to create a portfolio of studies to evaluate the clinical validity and utility of Myriad’s Precise MRD. “We look forward to working ...

Method can detect harmful salts forming in nuclear waste melters

Method can detect harmful salts forming in nuclear waste melters
2025-01-07
PULLMAN, Wash. –  A new way to identify salts in nuclear waste melters could help improve clean-up technology, including at the Hanford Site, one of the largest, most complex nuclear waste clean-up sites in the world. Reporting in the journal Measurement, Washington State University researchers used two detectors to find thin layers of sulfate, chloride and fluoride salts during vitrification, a nuclear waste storage process that involves converting the waste into glass. The formation of salts can be problematic for waste processing and storage. “We were able to demonstrate a technique ...

Researchers reveal how psychological stress may aggravate skin allergies

Researchers reveal how psychological stress may aggravate skin allergies
2025-01-07
Psychological stress is known to exacerbate skin allergies, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Recent studies using a mouse model of immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated cutaneous allergic inflammation (IgE-CAI) suggest that stress may disrupt immune functions, thereby worsening allergic symptoms by interfering with the body's inflammatory responses. IgE-CAI is characterized by swelling and infiltration of eosinophils, a type of immune cell involved in allergic inflammation, at the affected site.   In a recent study, a research group led by Associate Professor Soichiro Yoshikawa, Professor Kenji Takamori, and Professor Sachiko Miyake ...

International partnership aims to provide first-class osteopathy training

International partnership aims to provide first-class osteopathy training
2025-01-07
The University of Plymouth and International Osteopathic Education (IOE) have formed a new partnership that will offer first-class training to aspiring osteopaths from across the world. The organisations – both renowned internationally for quality healthcare training – have developed a rigorous and comprehensive Master of Osteopathic Medicine (MOstM) programme. Those enrolling on the programme, which is being validated and awarded by the University of Plymouth, will engage in five years of flexible study. They will benefit from clinical teaching in the IOE educational clinic in Bordeaux, ...

Reducing irrigation for livestock feed crops is needed to save Great Salt Lake, study argues

Reducing irrigation for livestock feed crops is needed to save Great Salt Lake, study argues
2025-01-07
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Great Salt Lake has lost more than 15 billion cubic yards of water over the past three decades, is getting shallower at the rate of 4 inches a year, and an analysis of its water budget suggests reducing irrigation is necessary for saving it. The study published today in Environmental Challenges shows that 62% of the river water bound for the lake is diverted for human uses, with agricultural activities responsible for nearly three-quarters of that percentage. “The research highlights the alarming role of water consumption for feeding livestock in driving the lake’s rapid depletion,” said co-author ...

Clean energy tax credit safeguards could save taxpayers $1 trillion

Clean energy tax credit safeguards could save taxpayers $1 trillion
2025-01-07
A new study published today in IOP Publishing’s journal Environmental Research: Energy shows why new safeguards adopted by the U.S. Treasury Department are necessary to avoid substantial climate impacts and wasted taxpayer resources from a generous hydrogen production tax credit.  The new study illustrates how, absent safeguards, hydrogen producers could potentially claim the highest level of tax credits ($3 per kilogram) for producing "gray" hydrogen from fossil natural gas, by blending in small amounts of biomethane or waste methane. ...

New genetic biocontrol breakthrough offers hope against disease-carrying mosquitoes and agricultural pests

New genetic biocontrol breakthrough offers hope against disease-carrying mosquitoes and agricultural pests
2025-01-07
A revolutionary new biological pest control method that targets the lifespan of female insects could significantly reduce the threat of insect pests such as disease-carrying mosquitoes by offering faster and more effective results than current methods. Described today in Nature Communications, the technique developed by researchers in Applied BioSciences and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology at Macquarie University is a new approach called the Toxic Male Technique (TMT). It works by genetically engineering male insects to produce insect-specific venom ...

Sex differences in brain structure present at birth

2025-01-07
Sex differences in brain structure are present from birth, research from the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge has shown. While male brains tended to be greater in volume than female brains, when adjusted for total brain volume, female infants on average had significantly more grey matter, while male infants on average had significantly more white matter in their brains. Grey matter is made up of neuron cell bodies and dendrites and is responsible for processing and interpreting information, ...

UCLA scientist unlocks early warning signs of adolescent psychosis through genetics

UCLA scientist unlocks early warning signs of adolescent psychosis through genetics
2025-01-07
LOS ANGELES, California, USA, 7 January 2025 - In a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview, Dr. Carrie E. Bearden, Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Psychology at UCLA, shares transformative insights into the neurobiology of psychosis risk in young people. Her work represents a significant advance in understanding how genetic factors and brain development interact to influence mental health outcomes in adolescents. Growing up in Hawaii, Dr. Bearden's early fascination with mysteries and marine biology evolved into a passionate pursuit of neuroscience's greatest ...

Research reveals unique features of brain cells linked to neurodevelopmental conditions

Research reveals unique features of brain cells linked to neurodevelopmental conditions
2025-01-07
7 January 2025, Leuven – Specific brain cells known as layer 5 pyramidal neurons play a vital role in how our brains process information. Research by the team of Prof. Joris de Wit (VIB-KU Leuven) and colleagues highlights the differences between two types of these brain cells —intratelencephalic (IT) neurons and pyramidal tract (PT) neurons—and how these differences may affect their vulnerability to conditions like autism and schizophrenia. Profiling synapses Among the neural circuits that let our brain process information, brain cells known as layer 5 pyramidal neurons integrate information from various sources ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Novel therapy for pet cats with head and neck cancers could help humans, too

Researchers develop novel treatment for central nervous system injury

Debt, bankruptcy, and credit scores after cancer diagnosis

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and risk of uveitis

Study proposes new, more personalized methadone restart approach for opioid use disorder

Majority of oncology staff at Moroccan Cancer Institute affected by burnout

People who skip breakfast and eat late dinners may have a higher risk of osteoporosis

Pertussis resurgence in Tuscany outlines importance of timely vaccination in Italy

Innovative food processing technologies: a path to nutritional efficiency in staple crops

We must develop thinkers, not crammers and fact experts

Political polar opposites may be more alike than they think

GI tumor microbes may predict prognosis and inform treatment

Study linking depression to specific altered brain cells opens door to new treatments

How plants rot: New method decodes hidden decomposers of wood and leaves

COPD care pathway leads to shorter hospital stays, more referrals to pulmonary rehab

First global guidelines for pregnancy and inflammatory bowel disease developed

In search of the perfect raspberry

Bio-inspired, self-cleaning sweat sensors for comfortable wearable health monitoring

Chung-Ang University researchers reveal strange dynamics of nanoparticle growth and shrink

No strong evidence for alternative autism treatments, study finds

New self-assembling material could be the key to recyclable EV batteries

An ancient signpost: Minute fossils tell big story about arthropod evolution

Predictable structures in music synchronises blood pressure the most, and could be used to create personalized music-based cardiovascular therapies  

New systematic review and meta-analysis shows an association between shingles vaccination and lower risk of heart attack and stroke 

Food for thought: Using food delivery services to provide rapid cardiac arrest response and potentially save lives

College drinking linked to poor academics, mental health for those around the drinker: Study

Nearly 80% of whale sharks in this marine tourism hotspot have human-caused scars

Spider uses trapped fireflies as glowing bait to attract more prey

How AI can build bridges between nations, if diplomats use it wisely

80% of Americans don’t know early-stage prostate cancer often has no symptoms

[Press-News.org] Childhood smoking increases a person’s risk of developing COPD
Smoke exposure negatively impacts critical lung development in childhood and adolescence