Johns Hopkins researchers in Baltimore Wednesday said exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke increases the risk of developing cervical tumors.
The group's study results also confirm research that found an association between active cigarette smoking and cervical neoplasia -- the growth of a tumor. The study is published in the January issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
"When these new data for cervical cancer are considered in light of similar results from previously published studies, our findings suggest that passive smoking may be firmly linked with cervical cancer," wrote lead author Anthony J. Alberg. "Our study of two large cohorts found that women who lived with smokers had a 40 percent or greater risk of developing cervical neoplasia."
The Hopkins researchers examined the personal cigarette smoking and household passive smoking exposures of two Washington County, Md., groups in 1963 and 1975. Some 41,173 women were included in the research.
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