A recent study beholds a word of caution for all those women who cannot resort for healthier ways of unwinding themselves or to beat their stress other than smoking. In the study, it was found that the women who smoke, run a four time susceptibility to develop abdominal aortic aneurysm.

The study, which was published in bmj.com, illustrates the fact as to how smoking put life at risk for a woman. ‘Aneurysm’ is derived from the Greek word ‘aneurysma’ that means ‘a widening’ and aortic aneurysm reflects enlargement of the ‘Aorta’ through which blood is supplied to the whole body.

There are two parts of aorta, one is named as thoracic and the other abdominal. The thoracic aorta is the one which leaves the heart, ascends, arches,  and descends through the chest and reaches diaphragm (the partition between abdomen and thorax) whereas the abdominal aorta is the one that passes through diaphragm and goes down the abdomen.

Though men are mostly the sufferers of the same, it is more fatal in nature for women as 15,000 deaths are accounted for due to this, of which 40% include women. The findings are based on a study done by Prof. Frank Lederle and his colleagues who studied 161,808 postmenopausal women between the age group of 50 to 80 years residing in the US from about 40 clinical centers.

This study aims to illustrate the risk factors that repair and rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysms beholds and also marks the first attempt to see the after effects of hormone replacement therapy on the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms in women.

A longitudinal study which continued for 8 years monitored the dietary habits, lifestyle factors and smoking in women. Out of 161,808 subjects about 184 women reported abdominal aortic aneurysm repair or rupture.

Comparative analysis was done between smokers, non-smokers and ex-smokers and it was found that the risk factor increased 5 to 9 fold for smokers and further by 77% with 10 years increase in age whereas the diabetic patients showed a decrease of up to 71%. On the whole, smoking is a determinant factor in development of abdominal aortic aneurysm in women.