Effect of a short period of abstinence from smoking on rewarming patterns of the hands following local cooling

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of a 12 h period of abstinence from smoking in young and old habitual smokers, on skin rewarming patterns of a hand following local cooling. This was done by comparing changes in peripheral circulation, measured indirectly by monitoring changes in skin surface temperatures of the hand with both infrared (IR) thermography and thermocouples before, during and after immersing the right hand for 2 min in water at 10 degrees C. Included in the study were young male non-smokers (n = 14) and smokers (n = 13), and elderly non-smokers (n = 12) and smokers (n = 14). The results showed no statistically significant difference between young non-smokers and smokers when comparing their response to the local cold challenge. The elderly smokers had a significantly higher hand skin temperature prior to cooling (34.0 +/- 0.2 degrees C) and after 80% rewarming (32.1 +/- 0.2 degrees C) (i.e. when the skin temperature in the "cooled" hand has regained 80% of the cold induced drop in temperature), compared to elderly non-smokers (33.3 +/- 0.2 and 31.3 +/- 0.2 degrees C, respectively). The elderly smoking subjects also had a faster recovery after cooling (9.7 +/- 0.8 min) than the elderly non-smoking subjects (16.7 +/- 2.6 min). A follow-up study with seven elderly smokers, who had smoked as usual until 2 h before the experiment, showed responses lying between the non-smokers and smokers who had had a longer period of abstinence (12 h) from smoking. In conclusion, we have demonstrated using IR-thermal imaging that elderly subjects who have smoked for many years have slightly warmer hand skin temperature when they abstain from smoking. Even a period of abstinence from smoking of a few hours can affect the way in which elderly subjects respond to a local cold challenge, recovering more rapidly then their non-smoking counterparts.

Forearm cutaneous vascular and sudomotor responses to whole body passive heat stress in young smokers

“…However, making between-group comparisons using this methodology and expressing the data as % of maximal CVC assumes that absolute maximal blood flow with local heating is similar between groups (29). Chronic smoking may reduce nitric oxide production and subsequently maximal CVC (1,10,14,15,19,28,43). However, in the present study there were no significant differences in absolute maximal CVC during local heating between groups (see RESULTS), and thus expressing values during passive heating as % of maximal CVC is founded.…”

“…Although we are unaware of any studies examining vasodilation during whole body heating in smokers, several studies show smokers have impairments to local stimuli [e.g., iontophoresis (10,14,19), microdialysis (15), and local heating (43)]. Smokers have impaired postsynaptic endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)-dependent and eNOS-independent maximal vasodilation (1,10,14,15,19,28,43). These local vasodilatory impairments in smokers suggest that vasodilation occurring during whole body heat stress may also be attenuated.…”

Digital Rewarming Patterns After Median and Ulnar Nerve Injury

“…11,15 In patients exposed to vibration tools (e.g., forestry workers, construction workers), Raynaud's disease, complex regional pain syndrome, or digital replantations and amputations, several laboratory tests have been used to study digital blood flow and skin temperature, for example, laser Doppler flowmetry, 31,40 -47 plethysmography to measure the amount of blood inflow, 27,34,43 finger systolic blood pressure, 26,33,48 -50 thermocouples on the skin, 4,44,45,51,52 and infrared thermography. 23,36,43,[53][54][55][56][57][58][59] However, to our knowledge, rewarming has been evaluated in nerve injury patients only by Ruch 40 in recent injuries (Ͻ3 months old) using laser Doppler flowmetry and thermocouples and by Pulst 59 in recent injuries (1-19 months) using infrared thermography at 7 and 15 minutes after immersion of the hands in ice water. During the first 6 months after nerve repair, they observed vasodilatation of the area supplied by the nerve at room temperature and after cold stress testing because of loss of sympathetic activity.…”

Variability in peripheral rewarming after cold stress among 255 healthy Norwegian army conscripts assessed by dynamic infrared thermography

“…Intermittent use and abstinence from nicotine may have paradoxical physiological effects [21]. Miland and Mercer reported in their study that a period of abstinence from smoking of a few hours may, in elderly, result in a more rapidly recovering from a cold challenge compared to their non-smoking counterparts [22]. Nicotine is rapidly metabolised, with an elimination half-life of 2 h. In addition to acute effects, the history of smoking may also affect rewarming responses.…”