Smoking Dads Raise Leukemia Risk in Kids

Exposure to heavy puffing at the time of conception put the child at a higher risk of developing the most common form of childhood cancer, known as Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), a study reveals.

The study investigated the link between parental smoking and the occurrence of ALL in offspring.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia - Incidence Causes Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Prognosis
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the cancer of white blood cells characterized by excess lymphoblasts. It is the most common of all childhood cancers and can be fatal in weeks if left untreated.

"The first step towards the development of leukemia is thought to occur in utero in a lot of cases," said Elizabeth Milne from Western Australia's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, who led the study.

"So we look at prenatal exposures as it has to be something to do with what's happening before the baby's born. Tobacco is a known carcinogen and, in terms of childhood leukemia, there is a plausible biological pathway whereby paternal smoking could actually contribute to disease risk in the offspring," said Milne.

In a comprehensive exposure questionnaire distributed nationwide to 388 families with cases of ALL and 868 control families, the group asked mothers and fathers to state where they lived, their occupation and how many cigarettes they smoked for every year of their life from the time they were 15, according to a university statement.

Bid Goodbye To a Bad Habit - Stop Smoking
With the repercussions of tobacco smoke looming large, and the promise of a healthy future sans tobacco, it is no surprise that there are teeming numbers who wish to quit the potentially lethal vice.

"Using this information and knowing the year the child was born, we were then able to look at smoking levels around the time of conception," Milne said.

"The results indicated that the risk of ALL, when compared with dad's who did not smoke during the year of conception, increased by 35 percent when fathers smoked more than 15 cigarettes a day around the time conception," said Milne.

Leukemia / Blood Cancer
Leukemia is cancer of blood-forming tissues in the body.

The effect was only apparent amongst heavier smokers, with fathers who smoked less than 15 cigarettes, as well as former heavy smokers, not showing any increased risk.

Based on evidence from lab studies of sperm, the group believe that paternal smoking may cause adverse changes in sperm DNA structure that may then go on to effect the development of the baby.

Quiz on Smoking
Approximately half the smokers die due to smoking -related diseases. But it is not just the smokers who are at the receiving end. The passive smokers too, often pay a heavy price. If you still have not 'kicked the butt’, learn more horrifying facts about smoking by participating in the following quiz.

"Oxidative damage to the DNA is the main type of damage seen as a result of smoking in sperm," added Milne.

Source-IANS