The latest study states that pre-menopausal women who are exposed to second hand smoke, triple their risk of developing fractures.
The study that was a collaborative effort by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in the US, and a team of Chinese researchers, was conducted on 14,000 men, pre and post-menopausal women in rural China. They explained that they had measured the mineral density of the hipbone and had taken on the history of non-spine fractures and their history of smoking. The researchers explained that they found that living with one smoker could more than double the risk of osteoporosis in pre-menopausal, non-smoking women, when compared to those women who did not live with a smoker. They also found that women who lived with two or more smokers had a three time’s an increased risk of osteoporosis, and 2.6 times an increased risk for suffering from a non-spine fracture, as compared to non-smokers.It was reported that a separate study that was conducted by researchers from the Gothenburg University, on around 1,000 men, who were of the ages 18 to 20, had found that the bone density of the spine, hip, and the body as a whole was much lower in smokers as compared to with the non-smokers of the same age.
The researchers found that fractures were common in people with low bone mineral density. The researchers fond that a specific type of bone, especially found in the hip, called the cortical bone, was affected by smoking by losing its thickness and the bone had an almost 5% lower mineral density in smokers than non smokers.
A spokeswoman from the National Osteoporosis Society in UK said the study added further proof that smoking was bad for smokers and non-smokers alike. He said, 'Our understanding of the effects of passive smoking on bone health is not quite so well researched so this study is an interesting addition to our cumulative knowledge of what smoking does to our skeletons. It does all add up to the fact that smoking is just plain bad for bones, whether you smoke yourself or if you live with someone who smokes.'
