Objective: Cigarette smoking is one of the major lifestyle factors influencing the health of human beings. Fibrinogen is the major plasma protein coagulation factor. Higher plasma fibrinogen concentrations are associated with cardiovascular diseases. Material & Methods: One hundred twenty healthy male smokers and one hundred twenty healthy male non-smokers among hospital employees and people from surrounding areas of Narayana Medical College, Nellore (India) were studied. The platelet count was done using Beckman Coulter Automatic Analyzer; AcT 5diffCP.Assay for plasma fibrinogen was performed using turbido-metric immunoassay. Results: The mean plasma fibrinogen concentration for smokers is 3.78 gms/L and for non-smokers 3.02 gms/L. The mean platelet count for smokers is 257325 per mm3 and for non-smokers 215483.3 per mm3. The difference between mean plasma fibrinogen and platelet count of smokers and non-smokers was statistically significant (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Thus we concluded that in smokers plasma fibrinogen concentration and platelet count increase significantly. Regular monitoring of these two parameters in smokers is advised DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v2i3.4261 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 2 (2011) 181-184

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Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus belongs to a group of diseases labeled as "lifestyle diseases" and is on the rise in Asians, especially Indians. It is estimated that by 2030, the number of people with diabetes will increase to more than 366 million. Aims and Objectives: This study was conducted to assess risk for Type 2 diabetes mellitus among study participants using waist circumference (WC) and waist-hip ratio (WHR). This study will also find out impact of WC and WHR as risk factor in recently diagnosed Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Materials and Methods: The clinical study includes subject population from and nearby areas of Raichur, Karnataka. A total of 150 patients who were diagnosed for first as Type 2 diabetes were included in this study. A total of 150 normal patients from the same area were chosen for comparison of data. Results: The mean WC for diabetics is 102.44 cm and for non-diabetics 96.60 cm. The mean hip circumference for diabetics is 107.15 cm and for non-diabetics 102.15 cm. The mean WHR for diabetics is 0.9527 and for non-diabetics 0.9368. We conclude that 36% population of North Karnataka region in of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus using WC and WHR as indicator. Conclusion: WC provides unique indicator of body fat distribution, which can identify patients at the risk of diabetes mellitus. WHR more than 0.9 found in 98 (65.33%) freshly diagnosed diabetics and 69 (46%) non-diabetics.

Previous studies using heart rate variability (HRV) have confirmed decreased HRV in cigarette smokers compared with non smokers. However only few studies have been done considering the effect of smoking on HRV in moderate and severe smokers assessed by pack years. Objective: The main objective of this study was to compare the autonomic functions in male moderate and heavy cigarette smokers.The present was conducted in our department of Physiology. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from Institutional research ethical committee. This study was conducted among male cigarette smokers with age between 20 to 50 years who were apparently healthy. The study group subjects were divided into moderate and heavy smokers considering both the amount and duration of smoking calculated by pack years. HRV data was recorded, statistical analysis was done by independent sample t test to compare between the groups. A p value of &#60;0.05 was considered as statistically significant whereas a p value &#60;0.001 was considered as highly significant.The HRV parameters namely Low frequency (LF) component, LF power expressed in normalized unit (LFnu) and LF-HF ratio were significantly higher in heavy smokers compared to moderate smokers. Total power, high frequency (HF) component and HF power expressed in normalized unit (HFnu) were found significantly less in heavy smokers compared to moderate smokers. Autonomic imbalance characterized by increased sympathetic function with associated decrease in the cardiac vagal modulation was seen in heavy smokers compared to moderate smokers.