Childhood smoking increases person's risk of developing COPD, finds study

Childhood smoking before age 15 increases a person's risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a new study. The study is published in the November 2024 issue of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal.

COPD is an inflammatory lung disease, comprising several conditions, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and can be caused by genetics and irritants like smoke or pollution. The disease affects more than 30 million Americans and is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.

A previous study using data from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey showed that COPD was more prevalent in adults who began smoking prior to 15 years of age (childhood smoking) compared to those who began after 15 years of age, regardless of their current smoking status and lifetime cigarette use.

In this new study, the authors expanded on previous research and examined whether childhood smoking before age 15 increased the likelihood of a person developing COPD later in life, even after accounting for possible secondhand smoke exposure. The new research examined a nationally representative sample of adults 40 years of age and older from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study.