A study reveals a surprising link between the adolescent habits of a father and the long-term health of his children. Researchers found that men who smoked during their own puberty might inadvertently accelerate the biological aging process of their offspring. This alarming discovery suggests a hidden intergenerational health cost of early nicotine use.
The study determined this acceleration using epigenetic clocks, which measure molecular changes on DNA linked to aging and disease risk. Blood samples from 892 participants in the RHINESSA study were specifically analyzed for epigenetic changes to determine if the biological age of the offspring was accelerated relative to their chronological age.
Results of the analysis revealed that the accelerated aging effect was clearly demonstrated in the study cohort. Children whose fathers started smoking at 15 or younger were biologically older than expected, specifically registering nine months to a full year ahead of their chronological age. This critical finding was consistent and measurable across the participants.
Scientists hypothesize that smoking during adolescence, which is considered a crucial period for sexual development, alters the epigenetic material in developing sperm cells. These genetic “tags” are then passed down, influencing gene function in the next generation and predisposing them to faster aging. This mechanism explains the observed pattern.
The faster biological aging detected in the study is significant because it is strongly associated with a higher future risk of age-related illnesses. These include serious conditions like cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular problems, and dementia. Note that these findings underscore an urgent need for stronger policies to prevent teenage smoking and vaping globally.
Physician Pablo López-Cervantes from the University of Bergen in Norway presented the study at the European Respiratory Society Congress held on 29 September 2025 in Amsterdam. The annual gathering brings together respiratory experts around the world to present and discuss the latest scientific and clinical findings across the field of respiratory medicine.
This is not the first study to investigate such an association. Researchers N. T. Kitaba et al. published a paper in 2023 concluding that pubertal smoking in adolescent men leaves lasting and unique marks on the DNA of their children in the future. These include changes at 19 specific sites across 14 different genes. Some of these are linked to asthma and obesity.
FURTHER READING AND REFERENCE
- Kitaba, N. T., Knudsen, G. T. M., Johannessen, A., Rezwan, F. I., Malinovschi, A., Oudin, A., Benediktsdottir, B., Martino, D., González, F. J. C., Gómez, L. P., Holm, M., Jõgi, N. O., Dharmage, S. C., Skulstad, S. M., Watkins, S. H., Suderman, M., Gómez-Real, F., Schlünssen, V., Svanes, C., and Holloway, J. W. 2023. “Fathers’ Preconception Smoking and Offspring DNA Methylation.” Clinical Epigenetics. 15(1). DOI: 1186/s13148-023-01540-7h