Exposure To Secondhand Smoke May Be Associated With Higher Blood Pressure In Boys

MedPage Today (5/2, Neale) reported that “exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke appears to be associated with higher blood pressure in boys,” according to a study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting.

HealthDay (5/2, Dotinga) reported that investigators “analyzed statistics from four national studies conducted between 1999 and 2006, focusing on the exposure of 6,421 children to secondhand smoke.” The researchers found that, “compared to boys not exposed to secondhand smoke, boys aged 8 to 17 who were exposed had significantly higher levels of systolic blood pressure.” The investigators found, however, that “girls who were exposed to secondhand smoke…had lower blood pressure readings than those who weren’t.” The UK’s Daily Mail (5/2) also covered the story.