Can Childhood Trauma Prime Brain Dynamics for Nicotine Dependence?
Childhood trauma-related emotion dysregulation may partly explain why some long-term smokers are unable to give up nicotine, a cross-sectional study suggested. Using 16-minute resting-state functional MRI to show the dynamic patterns of functional coordination among brain systems, researchers found that nicotine smokers spent approximately 25.63 more seconds in the frontoinsular default mode network (FI-DMN) state […]
ACS: Millions More Should Get Lung Cancer Screening
The American Cancer Society (ACS) widened the pool of past and current smokers eligible for lung cancer screening in its new guideline recommendations, potentially opening the door to 5 million more U.S. adults. Annual lung cancer screening with low‐dose CT is strongly recommended for asymptomatic patients ages 50 to 80 years who either currently smoke, […]
Smoking-Related Metabolic Changes Partly Drive Type 2 Diabetes Risk
HAMBURG, Germany — Smokers were more likely to have a specific metabolic signature that mediated their risk for developing type 2 diabetes, a researcher reported here. In a study of nearly 94,000 people in the U.K. Biobank, smoking was tied with a 73% higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes compared with no smoking (HR […]
Mortality Risk From Damaged Bronchi Extends to People Without COPD
Bronchiectasis was associated with an increased mortality risk in current and former smokers even if they did not meet the spirometric criteria for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an observational study found. Compared with patients without suspected bronchiectasis, the 10-year mortality risk was greater among patients who had suspected bronchiectasis — evidenced by CT and […]
Pre-COPD Current and Former Smokers Not in the Clear for Airway Disease
Whether they had respiratory symptoms or not, former and current smokers who didn’t meet criteria for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) had similar declines in lung function and progression to COPD in subsequent years, the SPIROMICS II study found. Participants with symptomatic tobacco exposure and preserved spirometry (TEPS) experienced no significant difference in annual declines […]
Former Smokers See Even Better Outcomes With Healthier Lifestyles
Former smokers still face higher disease and premature death risks, but they were able to cut down on that mortality risk by sticking with a healthy lifestyle, according to a prospective cohort study. Among people who used to smoke, higher total adherence scores to healthy lifestyle recommendations (e.g., healthy weight, balanced diet) were linked with […]
Dual Bronchodilators No Help for Symptomatic Smokers With Preserved Lung Function
Inhaled dual bronchodilator therapy did not decrease respiratory symptoms in former or current smokers with preserved lung function, the RETHINC trial showed. Among 535 symptomatic smokers with a 10 pack-year history and preserved lung function assessed by spirometry, 56.4% in the treatment group and 59.0% in the placebo group had a least a 4-point decrease […]
Vaping May Open the Door to Cannabis Use in Teens
Adolescents who used e-cigarettes were significantly more likely to become new smokers of cannabis shortly thereafter, a cohort study found. Cannabis-naive adolescents reporting ever vaping at baseline were more than twice as likely to report also using cannabis when surveyed a year later (adjusted RR 2.57 vs nonusers of e-cigarettes, 95% CI 2.04-3.09), reported Ruoyan […]