Smoking Causes a Low-Grade Systemic Inflammation in the Human Body

Background: There may be some positive and negative acute phase reactants (APR) indicating the possible inflammatory effects of smoking on vascular endothelium all over the body. Method: Consecutive daily smokers at least for a period of six months and age and sex-matched non-smokers were taken into the study. Cases with regular alcohol consumption (one drink a day) and patients with inflammatory, infectious, or devastating disorders including eating disorders, malignancies, acute or chronic renal failure, cirrhosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hyper- or hypothyroidism, or heart failure were excluded. Results: The study included 150 smokers (99 males) and 162 non-smokers. Interestingly, the mean age of the smokers was 45.9 years, and 66.0% of them were male. Although the mean weight, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and hematocrit values were similar in both groups, triglycerides (163.3 versus 151.8 mg/dL, p<0.05), low density lipoproteins (LDL) (126.1 versus 117.4 mg/dL, p<0.05), erythrocyte sedimentationrate (ESR) (10.8 versus 9.4 mm/h, p<0.05), and C-reactive protein (CRP) (2.5 versus 2.1 mg/L, p<0.05) values were all higher in the smokers, significantly. On the other hand, high density lipoproteins (HDL) (41.1 versus 44.0 mg/dL, p<0.05) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (101.9 versus 111.9 mg/dL, p<0.01) values were lower in the smokers, significantly. Conclusion: Smoking causes a low-grade systemic inflammation on vascular endothelium terminating with an accelerated atherosclerosis-induced end-organ insufficiencies in the body. Plasma triglycerides, LDL, ESR, and CRP may be positive whereas HDL and FPG negative APR indicating the inflammatory effects of smoking in the human body .