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MUNICH -- Young people who smoke regularly are likely to have "old" arteries, Swiss researchers found.
Youth ranging from ages 9 to 20 who said they smoked at least once a week had significantly thicker carotid intima media compared with nonsmokers (by nearly 0.03 mm, P=0.014), according to Julia Dratva, MD, MPH, of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel, Switzerland.
There were, however, no differences in the arteries between those who admitted to smoking at least once a month and nonsmokers (P=0.179), she reported at the European Society of Cardiology meeting here.
The finding highlights the need for more efforts to prevent smoking, Dratva said, noting that the thickening of the carotid wall is reversible, at least initially.
She said that she doesn't think that the results of the current study will convince young people to avoid cigarettes, but that they can be used to argue for better prevention.
Although tobacco smoke exposure early in life has been associated with poor health outcomes in children and adolescents -- including low birth weight and impaired lung function -- little is known about how smoke effects cardiovascular health in youth.
Cigarette smoke is considered a cause of atherosclerosis in adults, and the researchers explored whether a similar association exists in the younger population, in which smoking remains prevalent.
They examined data from the SAPALDIA (Swiss Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Disease in Adults) Youth Study, which included 356 offspring of the study participants. The researchers obtained 279 ultrasound carotid intima media images from that group.
Cardiovascular risk factors were relatively common in the offspring -- 13% were overweight, 3% had elevated total cholesterol, 5% had glycated hemoglobin that exceeded 5.7%, and 7% had high blood pressure.
Weekly smoking was reported by 10% of the young participants, and 14% said they smoked monthly. Of those who reported any amount of smoking, the mean duration was 2.3 years.
After adjustment for sex, age, pulse, body mass index, physical activity, parental history of cardiovascular disease, stage of puberty, height, and glycated hemoglobin, weekly smokers -- but not monthly smokers -- had a significantly increased carotid intima media thickness compared with nonsmokers. The findings remained consistent after further adjustment for parental smoking.
Heinz Drexel, MD, a cardiologist at the Vorarlberg Institute for Vascular Investigation and Treatment in Feldkirch, Austria, and a spokesperson for the ESC, said that he thinks that information may contribute to a teen's decision to avoid or quit smoking.
"If you show [youth] that their arteries are worse than that of the girl in the neighborhood who doesn't smoke, I think that is one of the psychological anchors where you can convince someone not to smoke," he said in an interview.
He acknowledged that the study findings are probably not enough on their own, but said that they can help show young people that they are not invincible and may be on their way to disease in adulthood.
Dratva reported that she had no conflicts of interest.
Drexel has had relationships with AstraZeneca, Merck, Pfizer, Merck Sharp & Dohme, and Takeda.
- Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN, Nurse Planner
European Society of CardiologySource Reference: Dratva J, et al "Cardiovascular risk profile and impact of adolescent smoking" ESC 2012; Abstract 1372.