Cigarette smoking and hepatic lesions in patients with chronic hepatitis C

A possible hepatotoxicity of cigarette smoke has been recently suggested by epidemiological and experimental studies. Our aim was to study the possibl e relationships between smoking and liver fibrosis and activity in patients with chronic hepatitis C. A cross-sectional study was per formed in a grou p of 310 patients with chronic hepatitis C consecutively hospitalized for t heir first liver biopsy. The relationships between age, gender, alcohol con sumption, route of contamination, tobacco consumption, and Knodell fibrosis and activity scores were examined in univariate, age-adjusted, and multiva riate analyses. One hundred and seventy-six patients(57%) were current smok ers. Smokers were younger (P < .001), more often of male gender (P = .001), more often alcohol consumers (P =.001), and more often had a history of in travenous drug use (P = .0001) than never smokers. Smoking was related to i ncreased fibrosis and activity scores Ih age-adjusted (P = .009 and P = .00 5, respectively) and multivariate analyses (P = .03 and P = .04, respective ly). Smoking increases the severity of hepatic lesions in patients with chr onic hepatitis C.