Wood Smoke Elevates COPD Risk in Smokers
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the fourth leading cause of death, affecting 25 percent to 30 percent of all cigarette smokers. Now, smokers may have even more to worry about, according to a new study published online ahead of print in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The study found that smokers who are exposed to wood smoke, either through home heating and cooking or through neighborhood pollution, are at an increased risk of COPD — including DNA changes that further increase that risk.
In the study “Wood Smoke Exposure and Gene Promoter Methylation Are Associated With Increased Risk for COPD in Smokers,” 1,827 subjects were drawn from the predominantly female Lovelace Smokers’ Cohort. Any exposure to wood smoke was self-reported by the subjects, while researchers collected demographic information and sputum samples. The researchers found that wood smoke exposure was significantly and independently associated with a higher risk of respiratory disease, especially among current smokers, non-Hispanic whites and men. Additionally, wood smoke exposure was associated with COPD in people who had aberrantly methylated p16 or GATA4 genes, and that both of these factors together increased the risk more than the additive of the two risk factors together.
Because of the increased risk of COPD, the researchers recommended that smokers avoid exposure to wood smoke whenever possible. In addition, they established an animal model that will further test whether both wood and tobacco smoke exposure cause more damage to the lung than either one alone. To view the full report, click here.