A villain may have some good qualities in him. People may hate him and may think of boycotting him or pushing him to one corner, but one fine day, they may discover that the so-called villain is displaying an unexpected positivity. Smoking with all its concerns like oral cancer, lung cancer and bronchitis, has secured an infamous reputation in the society. And there is no second opinion about it.
Till now, we had such a belief. But a recent study has suggested that smokers may get a benefit over the non-smokers. The study authors have claimed that the non-smokers have a higher risk of undertaking arthroplasty or joint replacement surgery in comparison to the smokers.
The study authors have also tried to establish a link between the said risk and the physical status of an individual. Overweight individuals and the ones who are involved in rigorous physical activities are parts of the high risk population.
Researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia, made an attempt to correlate smoking habit, BMI and physical activity with the risk of arthroplasty in men. The researchers considered the hospital morbidity and mortality records in combination with the clinical records of 11, 388 study subjects.
The study subjects were also the participants at the Health in Men study. Researchers studied the clinical data through March 2007 and found that 857 men had undergone arthroplasty. Out of them 59 percent were found to have undergone total knee replacement surgery while the remaining men were associated with total hip replacement surgery.
The participants were divided into three age groups - 65 to 69 years, 70 to 74 years and above 75 years. Overweight individuals were found to be at a greater risk of undergoing joint replacement surgery. But the most remarkable finding was the one which brought out some positive effects of smoking.
Men, who had been smokers for 48 years were found to be 51 percent less likely to undergo joint replacement surgery. This effect was observed to a higher extent in individuals who had been smoking for 23 years. Subjects belonging to the 70 to 74 age group were found have a greater risk of joint replacement surgery on account of intense physical activity.
Interesting, isn't it? People who find loads of excuses to explain their smoking habit will now get a "scientific" or "healthy" reason to prove their "cause". They will now say, "It's all for a cause".
