Cigarette Smoking and Serum Lipids in Young Men

Abstract

In mortality statistics cigarette-smoking habits have been observed to be correlated with coronary heart disease (Hammond and Horn, 1954;Doll and Hill, 1956;Hammond and Horn, 1958); and the serum lipid level and especially the serum cholesterol and p-lipoproteins are known to be raised in population groups with coronary heart disease. With these facts in mind, many investigators have studied the relationship between cigarette smoking and the serum lipid level (Gofman et al., 1955 ;Karvonen et al., 1959 ;Thomas, 1958Thomas, , 1960Dawber et al., 1959;Blackburn et al., 1960; BronteStewart, 1961 (1955) found that the difference in serum lipids between smokers and non-smokers was greater in their youngest (20-29) age-group than in the older ones. In the present study the subjects were slightly younger than the youngest age-groups mentioned above. If the explanation for the difference between the observations in the mentioned studies and the present one lies in this point, the effect on serum lipids of exposure to cigarette smoking seems to occur after some years of smoking, but not, however, during so short a smoking period as in the present work.When considering atherosclerosis many investigators have stressed the importance of the /8: a ratio ini the lipoprotein fractions.

Effect of Smoking on Blood Coagulation and Platelet Survival in Man

“…This evidence, together with that from the present study, may indicate that the higher mean serum cholesterol reported in smokers as compared with non-smokers (Thomas, 1960;Spain and Nathan, 1961) is not due to smoking; perhaps they should be attributed to differences in dietary habit, or perhaps hypercholesterolaemia and the smoking habit are independent consequences of some common cause. Konttinen (1962), however, in an extensive investigation in young men found no differences in serum cholesterol and serum phospholipid in smokers and non-smokers in Finland.…”

Distribution of Serum Lipids in Norwegian Recruits

“…An association between smoking and serum lipids has been noted in several epidemiological studies. Elevated serum cholesterol values have been observed among smokers by some (7,9,12), but not by others (27). Regarding triglycerides and smoking, epidermiological studies are scanty.…”

Smoking and Postabsorptive Serum Lipid Levels

“…3,4 Among numerous variables in such epidemiological studies, the work of Thomas and Cohen5 and Krut et al6 suggest that the diet of smokers may differ from that of nonsmokers and this may lead to differences in serum lipid levels.…”