Respiratory and Immune Response to Maximal Physical Exertion following Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in Healthy Adults

We assessed the cardiorespiratory and immune response to physical exertion following secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure through a randomized crossover experiment. Data were obtained from 16 (8 women) non-smoking adults during and following a maximal oxygen uptake cycling protocol administered at baseline and at 0-, 1-, and 3-hours following 1-hour of SHS set at bar/restaurant carbon monoxide levels. We found that SHS was associated with a 12% decrease in maximum power output, an 8.2% reduction in maximal oxygen consumption, a 6% increase in perceived exertion, and a 6.7% decrease in time to exhaustion (P<0.05). Moreover, at 0-hours almost all respiratory and immune variables measured were adversely affected (P<0.05). For instance, FEV1 values at 0-hours dropped by 17.4%, while TNF-alpha increased by 90.1% (P<0.05). At 3-hours mean values of cotinine, perceived exertion and recovery systolic blood pressure in both sexes, IL4, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma in men, as well as FEV1/FVC, percent predicted FEV1, respiratory rate, and tidal volume in women remained different compared to baseline (P<0.05). It is concluded that a 1-hour of SHS at bar/restaurant levels adversely affects the cardiorespiratory and immune response to maximal physical exertion in healthy nonsmokers for at least three hours following SHS.