Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Asian American women are getting lung cancer despite never smoking

nbcnews.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 161 posts

Re: Asian American women are getting lung cancer despite never smoking

#21

Post by probably_jesus »

darth_avocado wrote: post #17
lambdaba wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seed oils mainly, a factor of the lower smoke point. The only suitable plant oils in this regard are olive and coconut oil - which are fruit oils. [edit] seed oils r bad skeptics can just double check - the top 3 highest smoke point oils are all fruit oils, with seed oils at a distance - with the exception of peanut oil, which is closer. The smoke point is also not the only relevant factor, the fatty acid makeup is a…

Most seed oils have a higher smoking point, as compared to olive oil.

Yeah but it's about what the chemicals turn into when they reach a certain temperature, seed oils probably have something in them that is chemically different

Re: Asian American women are getting lung cancer despite never smoking

#22

Post by panabee »

max_ wrote: post #7
rafram wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If you smoke, your chances of getting cancer are only 3 in 10!" is not actually very comforting.

I don't mean it's comforting I prefer to have it at 0/10. I am just trying to say that things that cause cancer are not as deterministic as we think.

this is correct. it's clear that smoking elevates cancer risk, but why doesn't it cause cancer in all smokers?

to develop a cure, we must better understand the causal mechanisms.

this starts with acknowledging what we know and don't know about a devilishly complex disease that is arguably better conceptualized as a broad category rather than one monolith -- similar to how the flu, cold, and covid could be grouped under one mega classification, but are better identified as distinct conditions.

Re: Asian American women are getting lung cancer despite never smoking

#23

Post by brcmthrowaway »

eBombzor wrote: post #11
helsinkiandrew wrote: post #3

12% of Asian American men smoke compared with 2.6% of women. So non smoking Asian women are more likely to live with a smoking man. Could second hand smoking exposure be a factor in this? https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/smoking-facts/impact-of-to...

Anecdotal but can confirm that my Asian dad smokes a pack a day, with the window open, and it pretty much permeates the apartment, and we've all had issues with lung health. There's no doubt in my mind this is a huge factor. Sidenote but I haven't missed my father since I left home. Traditional old Asian men are possibly the worst humans ever.

[flagged]

Re: Asian American women are getting lung cancer despite never smoking

#24

Post by darth_avocado »

I am sure this inevitably is going to blame Asian cooking, but one important factor here is that the women surveyed were 40-70 year old. It is important, because a huge portion of these women would be first generation immigrants. That is important to know because first generation immigrants from decades ago are more likely to have a lower socioeconomic living conditions. Life in Asia with higher pollution and lower safety standards, life in America in poor neighborhoods with exposure to pollution, asbestos, and other carcinogens are all likely contributing factors.

Re: Asian American women are getting lung cancer despite never smoking

#25

Post by foobarian »

lambdaba wrote: post #5

Wasn't there something about some seed oil fumes being toxic? Maybe it's related to some cooking practices. Highly speculative but the cooking oil toxicity is well-known. [edit] found this with a quick search, seems relevant: Exposure to Cooking Oil Fumes and Oxidative Damages: A Longitudinal Study in Chinese Military Cooks https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4029104/ [edit 2] and indeed the article mentions…

Ugh, have to say goodbye to breath of the wok? Or make an outdoor kitchen I suppose.

Re: Asian American women are getting lung cancer despite never smoking

#26

Post by jejeyyy77 »

rafram wrote: post #6
max_ wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are Many things that cause lung cancer other than smoking. Infact majority of people that smoke don't get Cancer (only about 30% in a group of smokers get lung cancer) Edit: I don't mean it's comforting I prefer to have it at 0/10 I am just trying to say that things that cause cancer are not as deterministic as we think.

"If you smoke, your chances of getting cancer are only 3 in 10!" is not actually very comforting.

20% of lung cancer cases in the US are people who have never smoked.

Re: Asian American women are getting lung cancer despite never smoking

#27

Post by lambdaba »

Earw0rm wrote: post #19
lambdaba wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seed oils mainly, a factor of the lower smoke point. The only suitable plant oils in this regard are olive and coconut oil - which are fruit oils. [edit] seed oils r bad skeptics can just double check - the top 3 highest smoke point oils are all fruit oils, with seed oils at a distance - with the exception of peanut oil, which is closer. The smoke point is also not the only relevant factor, the fatty acid makeup is a…

Sunflower and groundnut oil is higher smoke point than olive.

See edit, it's indeed a factor of both fatty acid makeup and smoke point. Seed oils tend to have more PUFAs which oxidize easily. Olive oil, on the contrary, is not only mostly monounsaturated but also contains anti oxidant compounds that are protective (I think oleic acid, and others)

Re: Asian American women are getting lung cancer despite never smoking

#28

Post by gavindean90 »

enhancer wrote: post #18
lambdaba wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seed oils mainly, a factor of the lower smoke point. The only suitable plant oils in this regard are olive and coconut oil - which are fruit oils. [edit] seed oils r bad skeptics can just double check - the top 3 highest smoke point oils are all fruit oils, with seed oils at a distance - with the exception of peanut oil, which is closer. The smoke point is also not the only relevant factor, the fatty acid makeup is a…

Damn so sesame oil or soybean oil? Those are essential is asian cuisine

Use them as dressings but don’t cook with it.

Re: Asian American women are getting lung cancer despite never smoking

#29

Post by x0x0 »

ahepp wrote: post #16

A graph in the article is captioned: > A study of nearly 4,000 non-smoking women found that the share of Asian American women who developed lung cancer was more than twice that of white women. And then proceeds to list "53.4%" for Asian. Are we to believe that in a sample of "nearly 4,000 non-smoking women", over half of the Asian American women developed lung cancer? Elsewhere in the article it is said that > Among…

I think what it means, and the graph is unclear, is that of the A-A women who developed lung cancer, 53% don't smoke.

It's P(non-smoking | lung cancer, ethnicity)

Re: Asian American women are getting lung cancer despite never smoking

#30

Post by d1sxeyes »

rafram wrote: post #6
max_ wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are Many things that cause lung cancer other than smoking. Infact majority of people that smoke don't get Cancer (only about 30% in a group of smokers get lung cancer) Edit: I don't mean it's comforting I prefer to have it at 0/10 I am just trying to say that things that cause cancer are not as deterministic as we think.

"If you smoke, your chances of getting cancer are only 3 in 10!" is not actually very comforting.

Also worth remembering that cancer isn’t the only bad thing smoking does to you. 7/10 smokers (2/3) die of a smoking related illness.
Post reply on HN