Why the study?
Does a carboxyhaemoglobin level of 5% or more indicate a higher risk of atherosclerotic diseases compared to a level of less than 3% in tobacco smokers?
Does a carboxyhaemoglobin level of 5% or more indicate a higher risk of atherosclerotic diseases compared to a level of less than 3% in tobacco smokers?
Carboxyhaemoglobin levels in tobacco smokers provide a stronger indication of atherosclerotic disease risk than smoking history alone.
Elevated COHb may flag higher atherosclerotic risk in smokers; hypothesis-generating and should not yet change practice.
In a cross-sectional study carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) levels in tobacco smokers were found to provide a better indication of a person's risk of having developed certain atherosclerotic diseases, including ischaemic heart disease, than the smoking history. In the age group 30-69 years a person with a COHb level of 5% or more was found to be 21 times (lower 95% confidence limit 3.3 times) as likely to be affected by these diseases as another person of the same age and sex with similar smoking history and current smoking habits but with a COHb level of less than 3%.
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Wald et al. (1973) studied this question.
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