Associations of exposure to secondhand smoke with hypertension risk and blood pressure values in adults

BACKGROUND: The effects of environmental chemical exposure on blood pressure (BP) have been confirmed, but the association between exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) and hypertension risk and BP in the general population remains unknown. METHODS: Cross-sectional associations between SHS exposure and hypertension risk and BP values were evaluated using data for subjects who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999–2016. Logistic regression and linear regression were performed after adjusting for age, sex, race, alcohol consumption, poverty-to-income ratio (PIR), body mass index (BMI), estimated glomerular filtration rate, physical activity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and NHANES cycle. Restricted cubic spline models were created to display the potential nonlinear association between SHS and BP levels. RESULTS: Higher risk of hypertension was found at the highest SHS concentrations (OR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.04, 1.24, P for trend = 0.007). Additionally, SHS exposure had a strong positive association with systolic blood pressure (SBP) but was negatively associated with diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Furthermore, the nonlinear model result showed a significant association between SHS and SBP (P = 0.017); however, the nonlinear model result was not significant for SHS or DBP. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest a potential association between high SHS exposure and the risk of hypertension. Further research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12199-021-01009-0.