(Smoking and risk of myocardial infarction in women and men: longitudinal populations study)

Over the last twenty or thirty years, female smoking habits have become more like those of their male counterparts, making a comparison of the effects of smoking on both sexes more meaningful. In a paper in this week's BMJ Prescott et al report on a study of 24,000 people over 12 years. They found that the smoking related risk of a heart attack was 50 per cent higher in women than in men and conclude that this could be because women may be more sensitive to the harmful effects of smoking than men. They suggest that this sensitivity may be linked to interactions between components of tobacco smoke and hormonal factors and call for further research.

Contact:

Dr Eva Prescott, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Preventive Medicine, Kommunehospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark [email protected]