Passive smoking exposures linked with an increased risk for IPF
Active and passive tobacco smoking exposure is associated with an increase in the risk for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to a study in Chest.
In this prospective cohort study, researchers found an association between smoking status, maternal smoking, and smoking in household with risk for IPF after analyzing data from 437,453 white men or women between the ages of 40 and 60. Overall, 802 cases if IPF were identified.
A dose-response relationship between pack-years of smoking and risk of IPF in ever smokers per 1 pack-year increase was reported. An additive and multiplicative interaction between maternal smoking and smoking status was also noted.
“Intensity of smoking presents a dose-response association with IPF, strengthening the hypothesis for a potentially causal association,” the authors concluded.
Reference
Bellou V, Belbasis L, Evangelou E, et al. Tobacco smoking and risk for pulmonary fibrosis: A prospective cohort study in UK Biobank. Chest. 2021;DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2021.04.035.