(Business Standard) – Smoking can cause loss of the Y chromosome in blood cells, which may put male smokers at a greater risk of cancer, a new study has found.
Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden found an association between smoking and loss of the Y chromosome in blood cells. Loss of the Y chromosome was more common in heavy smokers compared to moderate smokers, the study found.
Since only men have the Y chromosome, these results might explain why smoking is a greater risk factor for canceramong men and, in the broader perspective, also why men in general have a shorter life expectancy, researchers said.
“We have previously in 2014 demonstrated an association between loss of the Y chromosome in blood and greater risk for cancer,” said Lars Forsberg, researcher at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University.