Smoking And Alcohol Flashcards
What diseases are associated with smoking?
- Cancer- specifically lung 🫁
- Infertility
- Preterm delivery, stillbirth, and low birth weight
- Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
- Decreased bone density post menopause
- Age related macular degeneration (blurred vision)
What is the pathophysiology behind smoking related diseases?
- The mechanism isn’t known for all diseases
- It is thought that most smoking related diseases develop through several mechanisms and pathways including:
Mutation of genes🧬
Inflammation
Oxidative stress - Chemicals found in the smoke have been found to be both toxic and carcinogenic
- This can be compounded or ameliorated by other factors such as diet, occupation, genetic makeup, and other life style or environmental factors
How does smoking cause lung 🫁 disease?
- Hydrogen cyanide and other chemicals directly exposed to the alveolar walls in the lung 🫁 , triggers the inflammatory response
- Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are are types of lung 🫁 disease
- Normal airways are held open by alveolar attachments
- In COPD airways are obstructed by loss of attachments mucosal inflamation and mucous obstruction of lumen
-
How does smoking cause cardiovascular disease?
- Cigarette smoke is one of the most important and preventable factors for atherosclerosis
- The detailed pathophysiological mechanism is not fully understood as the composition of cigarette smoke is very complex
- Nicotine and free radicals- In smoke directly damage endothelial cells of the coronary and peripheral arteries
- Nicotine raises BP and makes blood clot more easily
- Carbon monoxide reduces levels of O2 and also leads to development of cholesterol and deposits on arteries
What is the pathophysiology of smoking related atherosclerotic disease?
1- Low density lipoproteins (LDL) are oxidase i.e gains O2 or looses hydrogen by free radicals
2- Damage to endothelial cells ie artery walls
3- Triggers inflammation in vessel wall and subsequent consequences
- It is the oxidation of the LDL that often begins the atherosclerotic process
- The fat soluble antioxidants, vitamins D, E and K vitamin C will act as scavengers of the free radicals
- If this is prevented the disease will be prevented
- Stop smoking so lipoproteins won’t be be oxidised at such a fats rate
- Keeps HDL levels high
- Keep antioxidants high in diet
What us a free radical?
- A normal molecule has an even number of paired electrons
- A free radical molecule has an odd number of unpaired electrons
- A free radical is an unstable molecule that must find another electron to make itself complete
What does the term oxidative stress mean?
- This term describes the damage done to cells by free radicals looking for electrons
- Tobacco smoking has been proven to lead to excessive formation of o@ free radicals
- Over time this can trigger chronic inflammation and cell mutation
How does smoking effect brain health?
- Frequent headaches
- Hypoxia (lung disease) and narrowing of the blood vessels ( cardiovascular disease) increases the risk of a stroke.
How dies smoking effect the GI system?
- Smoking increases stomach acid secretion
- Smoking has been found to increase the risk of cancers of the mouth, oesophagus, stomach and pancreas
- Research suggests that smoking may also increase the risk of cancers of the liver, colon and rectum
How does smoking causes pancreatic disease?
- Smoking can cause mutation of the pancreatic genes leading to cancer
- Implicated as a cause for 1/3 of all pancreatic cancers
- Cigarette smoke causes the pancreas to produce less bicarbonate. This effects the Ph balance in the GI tract and predisposes people to gastric and intestinal ulcer formation
How does smoking effect the renal system?
- Nicotine is thought to increase BP by triggering the sympathetic nervous system response ( fight or flight response)
- Kidney function is closely associated with arterial pressure
- Persistent high BP can directly damage nephrons and lead to kidney failure
How does smoking effect sexual health?
- In men, smoking lowers the sperm count , their motility ands increases chance of mutation
- In women, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in cigarette smoke bind to receptors on oocytes which trigger apoptosis and increases incidence of genetic mutation of oocytes and fertilised eggs leading to miscarriage
How does smoking effect fetal health ?
- The effects of smoking on the mother also effect the fetus
- For example carbon monoxide in mothers blood leads to lower O2 levels in baby
What does smoking during pregnancy lead to?
- Increased risk of stillbirth (50% higher in smokers)
- Higher incidence of premature labour
- Underweight : up to 200g lighter then other babies
- Risk of disease with and higher risk of hearing loss, learning difficulties, sight problems as well as cerebral palsy
- Increased risk of SIDS
- Increased susceptibility to ear infections and asthma
- More likely to smoke when older
- Low birth weight in babies is also linked to problems that develop in adult hood including :
- Coronary heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
What is the relation of smoking to cancer?
- Over 200 different types of cell in the body all live, grow and multiply in harmony
- Many different types of signals control how much and how often cells divide
- If any of these signals are faulty or missing a cell may start to grow and multiply to much —> this is the beginning of cancer . It can happen in almost any type of cell
A casual link has been established between smoking and cancers of the :
- Lung and larynx
- Oral cavity and pharynx
- Oesophagus and stomach
- Pancreas
- Kidney and bladder
- Cervix
Evidence suggest a casual link between cigaret smoke and cholesterol and liver cancers