Passive Smoking Associated with Cervical Cancer

Secondhand smoke increases a woman'srisk of cervical cancer. Although studies ofcross sections of different populations havesupported the connection with passive smoking,there has not been enough evidencefrom studies that tracked individuals over aperiod of time to see who develops cervicalcancer. The current study, reported inObstetrics and Gynecology (January 2005),addressed the link.

The study involved 25,000 women whowere questioned about household smoking in1963 and >26,000 who were surveyed in 1975.Cancer registry information was examined todetermine the prevalence of cervical cancer inthe 2 groups up to 15 years after they were surveyed.Data from the study found that exposureto passive smoking boosted the risk ofcervical cancer by 2.1-fold in the 1963 groupand 1.4-fold in the 1975 group. In contrast, theincreased risk for women who actively smokedwas 2.6-and 1.7-fold respectively.