|
Quelle:
Fachblatt The Lancet
Jeder
Kontakt zu Tabakrauch
erhöht das Herzinfarktrisiko
Eine
weltweit in 52 Ländern durchgeführte Studie erbrachte den Beweis
dafür, daß jeder Kontakt mit Tabakrauch das Risiko für Herzinfarkte
stark erhöht. Das gilt beispielsweise auch für die Nutzung von
Wasserpfeifen sowie für Passivrauchen. Die Wissenschaftler konnten
beweisen, daß das Herzinfarktrisiko direkt abhängig ist von der
Zahl der täglich gerauchten Zigaretten. Jede gerauchte Zigarette
erhöht danach das Herzinfarktrisiko um 5.6%.
Die
im Fachblatt The Lancet veröffentlichte Untersuchung zeigt
aber auch, daß es sich in jedem Alter lohnt mit dem Rauchen aufzuhören.
Bei Rauchern die pro Tag nur wenige Zigaretten geraucht
haben, ist das erhöhte Herzinfarktrisiko bereits wenige Jahre
nach dem Rauchstop wieder normal.
All
tobacco exposure raises heart attack risk
A global study led by two Canadian researchers has shown evidence
that all tobacco exposure -- chewing, smoking or second-hand smoke
-- can lead to an increased risk of heart attack.
Dr. Koon Teo, one of the authors, says because of the magnitude
of the study, he and colleagues from around the world were able
to confirm a lot of assumptions and suspicions about the effect
tobacco has on cardiovascular health.
"(With this study) we included practically all the regions
of the world," he said in an interview Thursday. "So
we can say that the results apply to all ... different types of
people."
The study, published in the Lancet, was led by Teo and Dr. Salim
Yusuf of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., and includes data
from over 27,000 people in 52 countries.
The study shows the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI)
or a heart attack was increased by exposure to tobacco in all
forms - including chewing tobacco and second hand smoke.
The study also found an increased risk in those who smoke beedies
-- a small amount of tobacco wrapped in a dried temburini leaf
smoked in South Asia -- and sheesha, a water pipe, as well as
other forms of smoked and non-smoked tobacco used around the world.
Teo said the results of the study are very important for developing
countries because most of the tobacco studies to date have been
based in Western nations, and 82 per cent of the world's smokers
live in the developing world and don't feel the health warnings
apply to them.
"(For example) the sheesha, that people smoke in the Middle
East mostly, they feel that ... through water, it filters out
the toxins," said Teo. "But we found sheesha was just
as bad in causing heart attacks."
But the results should not just apply to developing nations, Teo
said.
One result he said he cites to his patients in Canada is that
once a smoker quits, their risk of a heart
attack decreases steadily over time, depending on how many cigarettes
a person smoked per day.
"For people who smoke lighter, maybe up to 10 cigarettes
a day, after five years the risk is almost gone," said Teo.
"The risk they are suffering actually diminishes very quickly
so it's never too late to quit."
Colleen Norris, an epidemiologist and associate professor at the
University of Alberta, said the study is "really outstanding
work."
Norris -- a population health scholar in cardiovascular disease
with the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research - said
the current research on smoking and cardiovascular health points
to smoking as one cause of heart problems, among many others.
"What's unique about this study, is it's taking away all
the other (risks associated with heart attacks) and saying just
by itself, this is what smoking is contributing," she said
from Edmonton.
The discussion portion of the study states "the effect of
tobacco use on AMI risk was consistent in the presence and absence
of the other risk factors."
The study was funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research,
the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and the International
Clinical Epidemiology Network. It also received support from various
pharmaceutical companies and organizations around the world.
The study also found that risk level was
related to the number of cigarettes smoked -- increasing 5.6 per
cent for each cigarette smoked per day.
Teo said he hopes the results of this study will help in developing
nations, which he says are going through what North America went
through in the 1950s - when a much higher percentage of the population
smoked.
"If we can do something about getting people to quit or not
start, then hopefully they'll avoid that harm that Western countries
suffered about 50 years ago," he said.
|