Asian American women are getting lung cancer despite never smoking

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Smoking and Secondhand Smoke

  • Several comments note low active smoking rates among Asian American women but much higher rates among men, suggesting household secondhand smoke as a major suspect.
  • Others argue secondhand smoke alone is unlikely to explain a reported ~2.6x higher risk vs white women, given its modest relative-risk increase compared with active smoking.
  • Some stress that many lung cancers occur in never-smokers; smoking is a strong risk factor but not deterministic.

Other Environmental and Household Exposures

  • Radon, air pollution, asbestos, coal use, and traffic-related pollution (e.g., freeways through Chinatowns, LA air) are cited as plausible contributors.
  • Multiple comments highlight indoor air quality: gas stoves without proper external ventilation, weak or recirculating range hoods, and heavy cooking fume exposure.
  • Coal cooking, more common in Asia and among earlier immigrants, is mentioned.
  • Incense burning and possibly toxic hair sprays are raised as additional, though unquantified, exposures.

Cooking Oils, Seed Oils, and Fumes

  • A subthread focuses on fumes from high-heat cooking (e.g., stir-fry, “wok hei”), with one study on Chinese military cooks cited.
  • Debate over seed oils (soybean, rapeseed/mustard, etc.): some argue they oxidize and produce more harmful compounds; others question the evidence or note similar oils are used in Europe.
  • There is disagreement over whether seed oil concerns are exaggerated or even politically coded.

Statistics, Causality, and Article Critique

  • Several commenters dissect the cited study and NBC chart, arguing the graph’s labeling of conditional probabilities is misleading.
  • Points raised: high proportion of non-smokers among Asian women with lung cancer is expected given very low smoking prevalence; this does not by itself prove higher absolute incidence.
  • Some suspect the trend might reflect aging demographics or regression to the mean rather than a new surge.

Culture, Demographics, and Speculation

  • Comments discuss socioeconomic status, first-generation immigrant exposures, and long life expectancy potentially affecting who survives long enough to develop cancer.
  • Some push back on stereotype-based explanations (secret smoking, incense, wok cooking) as outdated or overgeneralized.
  • Fringe speculation links trends to recent COVID vaccination; this is asserted without supporting data and not widely endorsed.