Time to first cigarette and serum cholesterol levels

Abstract

Rationale Cigarette smoking is a primary cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, prior research has rarely distinguished smoking behavior from nicotine dependence. Objective The current study presents a novel investigation into whether time to first cigarette (TTFC), a reliable proxy for nicotine dependence, is associated with lipid cholesterol, a biomarker for CVD, after controlling for smoking behavior and other risk factors. Methods In total, 3903 current adult smokers were drawn from four consecutive cross-sectional waves (2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, and 2011–12) of the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES). Weighted regressions were used to examine whether earlier TTFC is associated with differences in a) numeric values; b) guideline-based binary outcomes of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and the LDL/HDL ratio; and c) 10-year risk scores for CVD. Results Earlier TTFC (within 5, 30, or 60 min vs. >60 min) was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with lower HDL (2–3 mg/dL) and a lower odds ratio (OR = 0.70) of having optimal HDL levels, and a lower LDL/HDL ratio (0.14–0.32); these results were consistent across three models (unadjusted, adjusted for smoking behavior, and also adjusted for demographics and other CVD risk factors). Earlier TTFC was also associated (p < 0.05) with higher odds of having sub-optimal total cholesterol levels (OR = 1.55) and higher LDL values (8 mg/dL), but only in the models adjusting for smoking behavior. However, the association of TTFC with 10-year CVD risk scores did not reach significance (p > 0.05). Conclusion More “addicted” smokers, as indicated by earlier TTFC, have less favorable lipid profiles, even after accounting for current and lifetime smoking history and other CVD risk factors. Future research should further explore whether TTFC could be a useful tool for refining clinically significant CVD risk among smokers.

A key indicator of nicotine dependence is associated with greater depression symptoms, after accounting for smoking behavior

“…[18,19]. More nicotine-dependent smokers may therefore extract more nicotine from each cigarette compared to non-dependent smokers with a similar smoking history [20][21][22][23][24]. The resulting higher exposure to nicotine may have direct physiological effects in the brain, consistent with previous research suggesting that TTFC measures physiological aspects of ND such as sensitivity to depletion of nicotine concentrations from overnight abstinence [11,17,48,49].…”

“…Further, traditional measures of smoking behavior (here, cigarettes per day) correlate poorly with biomarkers of smoking such as cotinine, a metabolic byproduct of nicotine [17], possibly due to widely varying smoking topographies (length of inhalation, number of puffs, etc.) across smokers [18,19] which can result in drastically different levels of nicotine extracted per cigarette [20][21][22][23][24]. Thus, objective smoking behavior provides only limited information about later smoking patterns or smoking exposure.…”

“…ND and smoking behavior have statistically independent and additive relationships with later smoking behavior [13,14,30], as well as with smokingrelated health outcomes. For example, even after accounting for smoking behaviors, ND remains additionally and significantly associated with a higher risk for lung, larynx, head and neck cancer [31][32][33], more severe pulmonary impairment [20], less favorable cholesterol profiles [21], and a higher risk for asthma [22].…”

VCAM-1 Mediates Cigarette Smoke Extract Enhancement of Monocyte Adhesion to Human Carotid Vascular Endothelial Cells.

“…Many biological factors, such as diabetes, obesity, and smoking, are associated with CVD [5] [13]. Early stages of CVD involve vascular inflammation [14],…”

Studii privind variații ale profilului lipidic la loturi de nefumători, fumători cu și fără patologii respiratorii

“…Conform studiilor de specialitate care au inclus loturi de fumători, colesterolul total a fost mai crescut la persoanele care prezintă BPOC (Selya AS, 2017 La nivelul medianei valorilor de trigliceride se pot observa diferențe între cele trei loturi și anume: mediana pentru nefumători este de 66.50 mg/dL, mediana pentru fumători fără patologii declarate este de 80mg/dL, iar pentru ultima categorie fumători cu patologii respiratorii mediana este de 96 mg/dL.…”