Smoking risk factors among aboriginal youth

Although the frequency (incidence) of cardiovascular disease has been declining throughout the developed world, the incidence in Aboriginal populations from 1981 to 1997 has doubled.

In this study Ravi Retnakaran and colleagues carefully document cardiovascular risk factors among Aboriginal youths 10 to 19 years old. In particular they looked at risk factors among those who smoked and those who did not. Smoking was common, particularly among the Aboriginal adolescents (82% smoked). Compared with their peers, Aboriginal youths who smoked 6 or more cigarettes per day had higher systolic blood pressure and higher plasma homocysteine levels.

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p. 885 Cigarette smoking and cardiovascular risk factors among Aboriginal Canadian youths.

--R. Retnakaran et al.

http://www.cmaj.ca/misc/press/pg885.pdf

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