Overview

• Peer-reviewed Thorax analysis of 890 father–child pairs found 56% higher odds of below-average FEV1 in offspring when fathers had passive smoke exposure before puberty.
• Offspring also had roughly double the odds of an early low-rapid decline in FEV1/FVC, and this association persisted after adjustment for potential confounders.
• An observed doubling of COPD risk by age 53 was not statistically significant after full adjustment.
• Mediation analyses indicated that parental or offspring smoking and respiratory illness each accounted for less than 15% of the associations.
• Researchers note the study is observational and lacks paternal lung-function and genetic data, and they urge fathers to avoid smoking around children to limit intergenerational harm.