What is different in the respiratory and immune system of smokers’ children compared to other people?

Submitted by riztikhein t3_y2q38l in askscience

More specifically, I’ve heard that smokers’ children have a higher risk of asthma and respiratory infections and that they are affected through passive smoking (also when the smoker just breathes after having smoked recently) and through epigenetics, but it seems a bit unbelievable.

If true, what is the pathophysiology of this? Do they have less mucus and more debris in the respiratory tract or something like that?

Are smokers’ children more likely to have a worse sense of smell or no sense of smell?

Are smokers’ children more likely to be infected with typical viruses that go under the “common cold” term?

I’ve also heard that smokers’ grandchildren are affected through epigenetics. How exactly are they affected?

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bio_med_guy t1_is4zg4j wrote

Your question can be taken from several prospective, are you talking about second hand/passive effect of smoking on children? Are you talking about effect of smoking while pregnant or breast feeding? Or are you talking about transgenration inheritance?

Will assume you are talking about transgenration inheritance since you mention epigenetic. We actually have very few data, from what we have on paternal contributions to the offspring’s health, is that paternal exposures to smoking of cigarettes prepuberty to be associated with increased risk of asthma and reduced lung function as well as of increased fat mass in the offsprin.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-04504-0

https://academic.oup.com/biolreprod/article/105/3/667/6355554

The authors in the second study do suggest epigenetic mechanism involved through small sperm RNA. Is that what you are referring to??

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riztikhein OP t1_is9rxy5 wrote

Thanks for the reply! I’m referring to all that, actually. I’m interested in how and why are the respiratory and immune system of smokers’ offspring different, eg if the offspring have more risk of respiratory infections or asthma, then why and how does it happen, whether is it irreversible, like do the oncogenic substances do something to the lung tissue itself to weaken the immune response there etc. Seems like a complex interesting topic and I am just curious. :D

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