Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure: perhaps the most important cardiovascular risk factor for toddlers

In this volume of The Journal, Groner et al report the use of preclinical markers to evaluate the cardiovascular effects of secondhand tobacco exposure on toddlers. Hair nicotine levels directly correlated with blood pressure and the serum CRP level, and inversely correlated with the serum HDL level and endothelial cell progenitor cell prevalence. These relationships remained when controlled for age, sex, body mass index z-score, maternal education, and method of payment. Therefore, this exposure has a detectable relationship in toddlers with several known and proven markers for cardiovascular risk long before the emergence of clinical disease.

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