Can Dad's Smoking Result to Kids Developing Lukemia? Study Says Yes

From the archive. This post was first published on the original Green Eggs and Moms blog and is kept here as it was.

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Here’s another good reason to get your husband to quit smoking.

According to ModernMedicine.com, a study found that dads who smoked during the time of conception of their child not only gave their offspring damaged sperm, but a 15 – 44% chance of getting a certain type of cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) as well.

(The percentage range depends on the frequency of smoking. See Additional Findings section below.)

Yikes.

The Test Group

Researchers from the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Australia worked with almost 400 families with kids suffering from ALL. The team used a survey to determine the smoking habits of the children’s parents.

The findings were then compared to families whose kids did not suffer from ALL and combined with results from 9 other previous studies. Which leads us to…

Additional Findings

Only the dads’ smoking habits increased the risk of children developing ALL. (Hooray for moms! Although it’s still in your child’s best interest for you to quit.)
Dad’s who smoked even just a few cigarettes daily around the time of conception increased their child’s risk by 15%.
For dad’s who smoked at least 20 cigarettes daily, the risk jumped to 44%.

Conclusion

While Dr. Elizabeth Milne, who led the researchers, says that ALL development is attributed to a combination of many other factors, the study still holds great value. It’s a pretty convincing argument as to why fathers or fathers-to-be should kick their smoking habit.

Photo:
Creative Commons from Xurble

Can Dad's Smoking Result to Kids Developing Lukemia? Study Says Yes

The Test Group

Additional Findings

Conclusion

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