(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Everyone knows secondhand smoke can hurt young lungs, but most of the time the risk is associated with asthma or later development of lung cancer.

New research out of Columbia University suggests early exposure might also lead to an earlier diagnosis of emphysema, even in people who have never smoked themselves.

The study was based on CT scans and exposure to secondhand smoke collected from people taking part in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Artherosclerosis. Among the 3,964 people in the study, 1,781 were never-smokers.

Results showed nonsmokers who reported living with a regular smoker during childhood were significantly more likely to have CT patterns indicative of emphysema. The finding held true even after the investigators took other factors that could've affected the lungs – such as asthma – into account.

"The take-home message from our analysis is that exposure to tobacco smoke during childhood may be associated with detectable differences in lung structure, and perhaps early emphysema, later in life among people who do not themselves smoke," study author Gina Lovasi, M.P.H., Ph.D., was quoted as saying. "These findings might also help researchers to understand how lung damage develops."

Dr. Lovasi goes on to note, however, that more study will be needed to determine the value of the CT-based measures used in her research. 

SOURCE: Presented at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society, May 19, 2009

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