A new study links exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke to an increased risk of developing peripheral artery disease (PAD), heart disease and stroke among women, Reuters reported Sept. 22.

Researchers studied 1,209 non-smoking women in Beijing, 477 of whom the scientists considered "passive smokers" -- non-smokers exposed to another person's tobacco smoke for at least 15 minutes daily for more than one day every week, and for at least two years in the past 10 years.

The authors found that female passive smokers were at a significantly higher risk of developing the three health problems studied than non-smoking women. "Exposure to passive smoking increased heart disease by 69 percent, stroke by 56 percent, and peripheral artery disease risk by 67 percent," said lead researcher Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health.

Risk rose with exposure levels, the researchers found.

"In China and other Asian countries, most men smoke, but few women smoke," Hu said. "However, most women are exposed to passive or secondhand smoking either at home or at work."

While links between passive smoking and stroke and heart disease had been established by earlier studies, this study was the first to establish the link between passive smoking and PAD, which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The research was published online in the Sept. 22, 2008 issue of the journal Circulation.