BLOOD PARAMETERS ASSOCIATED WITH ATHEROGENIC AND THROMBOGENIC RISK INSMOKERS AND NONSMOKERS WITH SIMILAR LIFE-STYLES

Current evidence indicates that life-style factors can affect the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The life-style of cigarette smo kers, as a group, differs in many ways from that of nonsmokers. Most s tudies that compare clinical pathologic findings related to atherogeni c and thrombogenic risk in smokers and nonsmokers do not adequately co ntrol for most of the life-style differences between these two groups. In this study, a number of atherogenic risk factors (cholesterol, low -density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, very low-density lipop rotein, high-density lipoprotein/cholesterol, triglycerides, and gluco se) and thrombogenic risk factors (total white blood cell count, total red blood cell count; percent of monocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, basophils, and eosinophils; interleukin-l, leukotriene B4, hematocrit , hemoglobin, bilirubin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, platelet count, pr othrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, and fibrinogen) were comp ared in male and female cigarette smokers and nonsmokers who were sele cted to have approximately similar self-reported life-styles (i.e., fo od, alcohol, and vitamin consumption and exercise level). However, the smokers (male and female) consumed more coffee (P < 0.05) than the no nsmokers. A trend toward blue-collar versus white collar occupational status was also observed in the male smokers relative to male nonsmoke rs. Cigarette consumption and urinary cotinine and carboxyhemoglobin l evels did not differ between male and female smokers. Atherogenic and thrombogenic values were determined from venous blood samples. No stat istically significant (P > 0.05) differences in clinical pathologic fi ndings related to atherogenic risk were observed between the smokers a nd nonsmokers. However, several blood parameters related to thrombogen ic risk were elevated in male smokers compared with male nonsmokers (w hite blood cell counts, +26%; fibrinogen levels, +17%; mean corpuscula r hemoglobin, +5%; mean corpuscular volume, +4%); one was decreased (p rothrombin time, -5%). Only white blood cell count (+43%) was statisti cally different in female smokers relative to female nonsmokers. None of the statistically significant differences in risk factors were dose dependent with self-reported cigarette, alcohol, or caffeine consumpt ion. In conclusion, our results suggest that reducing confounding life -style differences between smokers and nonsmokers also reduces the dif ference in clinical values associated with hematologic atherogenic and thrombogenic risk between smokers and nonsmokers.