Those who smoke and drink heavily may are likelier to develop pancreatic cancer at an earlier age than those who don't.


Researchers from the University of Michigan Health System found that heavy smokers with pancreatic cancer were diagnosed around age 62 and heavy drinkers at age 61 – almost a decade earlier than the average age of 72.

Smoking is a strong risk factor for pancreatic cancer and alcohol has been shown to cause oxidative damage to the pancreas, which sets the stage for the inflammatory pathways that can lead to cancer.

The findings only indicate these habits can lead to developing pancreatic cancer earlier in life.
The study of 811 pancreatic cancer patients from the multicenter, international database Pancreatic Cancer Collaborative Registry does not prove the habits caused cancer.

The study does make a step toward understanding at what age screening for pancreatic cancer should begin – once widespread screening is available.

"As screening programs are developed, an understanding of how personal features influence the age of presentation will be important to optimize the timing of those screenings.

Non-smokers who live with or spend time with people who smoke are damaging their memory, a new study has found.

The study by Northumbria University is a first of its kind to explore the relationship between exposure to other people's smoke and everyday memory problems.

Dr Tom Heffernan and Dr Terence O'Neil, researchers at the Collaboration for Drug and Alcohol Research Group at Northumbria University, compared a group of current smokers with two groups of non-smokers, those who were regularly exposed to second-hand smoke and those who were not.

Others exposed to second-hand smoke either lived with smokers or spent time with smokers, for example in a designated "smoking area," and reported being exposed to second-hand smoke for an average of 25 hours a week for an average of four and a half years.

The three groups were tested on time-based memory (remembering to carry out an activity after some time) and event-based memory (which refers to memory for future intentions and activities).

Researchers found that the non-smokers who had been exposed to second-hand smoke forgot almost 20 per cent more in the memory tests than those non-smokers not exposed.

However, both groups out-performed the current smokers who forgot 30 per cent more than those who were not exposed to second-hand smoking.

"According to recent reports by the World Health Organization, exposure to second-hand smoke can have serious consequences on the health of people who have never smoked themselves, but who are exposed to other people's tobacco smoke," Heffernan said in a statement.

"Our findings suggest that the deficits associated with second-hand smoke exposure extend to everyday cognitive function. We hope our work will stimulate further research in the field in order to gain a better understanding of the links between exposure to second-hand smoke, health problems and everyday cognitive function," he said.