A team of scientists from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and the University of Bergen in Norway found that boys who start smoking in early adolescence are at risk of passing harmful epigenetic traits to their future children. To work published In the scientific journal Clinical Epigenetics.
The experts examined the epigenetic profiles of 875 people aged between 7 and 50, and also determined whether their fathers smoked. They found changes in the genes of people whose fathers smoked for the first time before age 15. Genetic alterations have been associated with the development of asthma, obesity, and wheezing when breathing.
Co-author of the study, Dr. According to Neguss Kitab, stem cells are produced in boys during early puberty, which are responsible for reproductive functions and heredity. Thus, the changes in epigenetic markers of children whose fathers smoked at an early age were much more pronounced than in children of boys who started smoking in adulthood.
The scientists noted that the results of the study point to serious consequences for public health. Smoking in early adolescence can harm the health of future generations for decades.
ancient scientists to solvethat young e-cigarette users are much more likely to consume alcohol than their non-e-cigarette peers.