Boys who smoke during puberty could, without knowing it, harm their children. This is the conclusion of a work presented by researchers from the University of Bergen (Norway), at the Congress of the European Pneumology Society, which is held from September 27 to October 1 in Amsterdam.
To achieve this observation, they analyzed the data of 892 people aged 7 to 50. And their results are striking: people whose father started smoking before 15 years of age have a higher organic aging from 9 to 12 months at their real age. This discrepancy even increases up to 15 months if these people are themselves smoking.
To measure this aging, scientists have used “epigenetic clocks” which analyze molecular changes in age -related DNA. These changes, although they do not modify the genetic code itself, influence the behavior of the genes and are associated with the diseases of aging.
“This accelerated biological aging is not trivial, as previous research has associated it with an increased risk of diseases such as cancer, arthritis and dementia,” say scientists.
Interesting (and surprising), this acceleration of aging was not observed in people whose fathers started to smoke later in their lives. Likewise, no clear diagram has been identified in connection with maternal smoking.
Sperm alteration
This research does not fully explain why smoking during puberty is linked to faster aging. “We believe that when fathers start to smoke during puberty, this can change the epigenetic equipment of their sperm, and that these changes can be transmitted to the next generation,” said the authors.
“We all know that smoking causes diseases such as asthma, COPD and cancer,” concludes Dr. Stamatoula Tsikrika which chairs the group of experts in the European Pneumology Society on Tobacco, Antitabac and Health Education. We are starting to understand that damage caused by smoking can persist from one generation to another. »»
