While it may be clear that the more you smoke, the more you increase the risk of having a stroke, U.S. scientists have now confirmed the dose response for women in a new study.
Dr. John Cole, the study's corresponding author and an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Maryland's School of Medicine in Baltimore, said that "there is not a lot of data out there on the actual dose response," meaning how smoking more cigarettes increases the risk of having a stroke.
The research, published in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke, found the risk was 2.2 times greater for women smoking one to 10 cigarettes a day, 4.3 times greater for those smoking 21 to 39 cigarettes a day, and 9.1 times greater for those smoking two packs a day or more, compared to nonsmokers. Any smoking increased the risk compared to non-smokers, the research found.
The team interviewed 466 women who had suffered a stroke, and also 604 women who hadn't, with all participants between the ages of 15 and 49. The women were either smokers, non-smokers or former smokers.
The researchers found stroke risk began to decline as early as 30 days after the subject stopped smoking with a return to normal risk after two years.
"Stopping is the best thing to do, but cutting back will also reduce the risk," Cole said.
Dr. David A. Meyerson, director of cardiology consultative services at Johns Hopkins University Bayview Medical Centre, and a spokesman for the American Heart Association, described the harm cigarettes cause to U.S. News and World Report.
"Cigarettes, among other tobacco products, are the only products that when used as directed are still guaranteed to do harm," he said.
Dr. Meyerson added: "There are four major reasons why. Smoking disrupts the cells lining the blood vessels. It increases blood fibrogen levels, which makes blood more likely to clot. It increases the stickiness of platelets, the cells that form blood clots, and it also decreases the body's natural clot-dissolving mechanism."
Dr. Cole said researchers plan a similar study for men.
Photo: Coffee and cigarette. Credit: nils.alsleben/Flickr
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