Looking for early indicators of vascular modification in young healthy tobacco smokers

Cigarette smoking is a main risk factor for cardiovascular disease but early indicators of damage specially in young smokers with no clinical evidence of impairment are lacking. Our study identifies adaptive responses in young smokers following a Reactive Hyperemia (RH) maneuver and compares those responses with an equivalent non-smoker group. The study respected all principles of good clinical practice, involved 42 healthy volunteers (21 smokers, 21 non-smokers), with similar anthropometric data, except for smoking habits. Smokers were mostly (17/21) mild, according with the calculated smoking index, and had followed this regular practice for 11.1±4.5 years. RH was obtained by applying a suprasystolic pressure to one of the participants' arms for two minutes. Perfusion was measured in the third finger on the ipsilateral side. Perfusion early recovery after occlusion was significantly faster in non-smokers (***p<0.0001) compared with smokers. These differences were attributed to smoking, suggesting that even in the absence of any clinical expression, the reflex adaptive responses evoked by RH in both groups are altered. These results justify further studies to better understand the early subclinical impacts of smoking on healthy individuals.