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Smoke-free policies linked to lower blood pressure in non-smokers & nbsp | & nbspPhoto Credit: & nbspThinkstock
Washington DC: A recent study has shown that smoke-free policies in public spaces are associated with lower blood pressure readings among non-smokers. While anti-smoking policies and laws prohibiting smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants have been associated with a reduction in the hospitalization rate for heart disease, previous studies have not examined the changes in blood pressure.
"We found that non-smoking study adults who lived in areas where no smoking laws in restaurants, bars, or workplaces had lower systolic blood pressure at the end of the period follow-up to those living in areas without legislation ". , said Stephanie Mayne, Ph.D., lead author of the study, which was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association.
Anti-smoking laws were associated with a reduction in systolic blood pressure, but surprisingly not a reduction in diastolic blood pressure or high blood pressure. It's not entirely sure why this has happened, but it's possible that we detects effects on systolic blood pressure below the high blood pressure threshold, Mayne added.
Higher systolic blood pressure increases the risk of cardiovascular disease even when they are below the threshold of hypertension. As a result, the reductions in systolic blood pressure observed in this study suggest a potentially significant effect on risk at the population level, she said.
"In addition, when we examined individuals' differences in blood pressure over time, comparing years when they lived in a region where smoking was prohibited was prohibited on average, systolic blood pressure was lower on average. they lived in a tobacco-free area, after taking into account general trends in blood pressure and how levels of risk factors such as diet and physical activity evolved over the period of time. study, "explained Mayne.
Although the scale of the associations is small at the individual level, the researchers indicated that the findings suggest a potential mechanism by which reductions in second-hand smoke, through smoke-free policies, could improve heart health at the population level. .
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