Passive smoking increases the risk of developing atrial fibrillation.
- Passive smoking significantly increases the risk of developing atrial fibrillation.
- Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder worldwide.
- Symptoms include palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue and trouble sleeping.
Exposure to passive smoking is linked to an increased risk of serious heart rhythm disorders, according to research presented at the congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
“The dangers of passive smoking were significant whether individuals were at home, outdoors, or at work, indicating that exposure universally increases the risk of atrial fibrillation,” said study author Dr. Kyung-Yeon Lee of Seoul National University Hospital. “These results should encourage policymakers to further reduce smoking in public places and support smoking cessation programs,” he adds.
Smoking and atrial fibrillation: more than 12 years of study
Her research examined the association between exposure to passive smoking and long-term risk of atrial fibrillation. The study included adults aged 40 to 69 who had used the UK National Health Service (NHS) for any reason and were registered with the UK Biobank. People with atrial fibrillation at the start of the analysis were excluded from the study.
A total of 400,493 adults were included in the analysis. The average age of participants was 56.5 years and 55.2% were women. A touchscreen questionnaire was used to ask participants the number of hours they had been exposed to other people’s smoke in a typical week. The participants were classified into the “exposed group” if they had been in contact with passive smoking and in the “unexposed group” if they had not been in contact with passive smoking. Some 85,984 participants (21%) had been exposed to passive smoking in the year preceding data collection, with an average exposure of 2.2 hours per week. During a median follow-up of 12.5 years, atrial fibrillation developed in 23,471 participants.
Researchers analyzed the association between secondhand smoke exposure and atrial fibrillation after adjusting for factors that may affect the relationship, including age, gender, ethnicity, body mass index, daily alcohol consumption, physical activity, diabetes, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia and socioeconomic status.
Passive smoking: a 6% increased risk of atrial fibrillation
The group exposed to passive smoking had a 6% increased risk of atrial fibrillation during follow-up compared to the non-exposed group, after adjusting for the previously mentioned factors.
Furthermore, each increase in the duration of weekly passive smoking was linked to an even higher risk of atrial fibrillation. For example, 7.8 hours of passive smoking per week was associated with an 11% increased likelihood of heart rhythm disturbances compared to no passive smoking.
Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder worldwide. Symptoms include palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue and trouble sleeping. It is estimated that one in three Europeans will develop this disease during their lifetime. People with atrial fibrillation are five times more likely to have a stroke than healthy people.
