AUTHOR=Yang Li , Zhou Yunchun , Jiang Mingyan , Wen Wendy , Guo Yanfang , Pakhale Smita , Wen Shi Wu 

TITLE=Why Female Smokers Have Poorer Long-Term Health Outcomes than Male Smokers: The Role of Cigarette Smoking During Pregnancy

JOURNAL=Public Health Reviews

VOLUME=Volume 45 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/public-health-reviews/articles/10.3389/phrs.2024.1605579

DOI=10.3389/phrs.2024.1605579

ISSN=2107-6952

ABSTRACT=In general, women's health status is better than men. However, the opposite is true for female smokers who usually have poorer long-health outcomes than male smokers. In this study, we thoroughly reviewed and analyzed relevant literature. Based on this review/analysis of literature, we proposed in the first time of a hypothesis that may explain this paradox phenomenon: female smokers have worse long-term health outcomes than male smokers because some of them smoke during pregnancy, and the adverse effects of cigarette smoking during pregnancy is much stronger than cigarette smoking during non-pregnancy periods. We proposed study designs to test this hypothesis which may help to explain this paradox phenomenon of poorer long-term health outcomes in female smokers as compared with male smokers. Our pregnancyamplification theory, if proven to be true, could provide additional evidence on the adverse effect on women's long-term health outcomes for cigarette smoking during pregnancy.