Passive Smoking Lowers HDL Levels In Teen Girls But Not Boys

A new study from Australia has found that passive smoking affects teen girls more than it affects boys.

Researchers from The University of Western Australia found that passive smoking was linked with lower levels of good cholesterol in teen girls, but not boys. This good or HDL cholesterol lowers risk of heart attacks.

"In our study we found that 17-year-old girls raised in households where passive smoking occurred were more likely to experience declines in HDL cholesterol levels," said Dr Chi Le-Ha, from UWA's School Medicine and Pharmacology and based at Royal Perth Hospital.

The study included 1000 adolescents who were in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. These children were born between 1989 and 1992.

High-density lipoproteins (HDL) lower heart disease risk by removing excess cholesterol from blood and taking it to the liver where it gets metabolized.

Dr Le-Ha added that teen girls must be protected from passive smoking, especially at home.

"Second-hand smoke did not have the same impact on teenage boys of the same age, which suggests passive smoking exposure may be more harmful to girls," added Chi Le-Ha, who is the lead author of the study."Considering cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women in the Western world, this is a serious concern."

The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Secondhand smoke contains more than 50 substances that can cause cancer, according to Medline Plus.  Passive smoke can cause lung cancer, nasal sinus cancer, respiratory tract infections and heart disease. Second-hand smoking cause about 600,000 deaths each year, previous research has found.