Does Opium Consumption Have Shared Impact on Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer?

Abstract

Although atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and cancer are seemingly different types of disease, they have multiple shared underlying mechanisms and lifestyle-related risk factors like smoking, unhealthy diet, excessive alcohol consumption, and inadequate physical activity. Opium abuse is prevalent in developing countries, especially the Middle East region and many Asian countries. Besides recreational purposes, many people use opium based on a traditional belief that opium consumption may confer protection against heart attack and improve the control of the risk factors of ASCVD such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. However, scientific reports indicate an increased risk of ASCVD and poor control of ASCVD risk factors among opium abusers compared with nonusers. Moreover, there is accumulating evidence that opium consumption exerts potential carcinogenic effects and increases the risk of developing various types of cancer. We conducted a review of the literature to review the current evidence on the relationship between opium consumption and ASCVD as well as various kinds of cancer. In addition, we will discuss the potential shared pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying the association between opium abuse and both ASCVD and cancer.

Association Between Serum Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase and Alkaline Phosphatase with Presence of Premature Coronary Artery Disease: Findings from Khuzestan Comprehensive Health Study (KCHS)

“…Unraveling the genetic variants underpinning the vulnerability to CAD may help early diagnosis of PCAD. Also, conventional cardiovascular risk factors, including age, dyslipidemia, gender, cigarette smoking, DM, HTN, and opium consumption, affect the incidence of PCAD [3,29,[32][33][34][35][36]. It has been demonstrated that in ammatory reactions and oxidative stress exert a crucial role in the pathophysiology of CAD.…”

Predicting the Need for Cardiovascular Surgery: A Comparative Study of Machine Learning Models

“…Hypertension is a major risk factor for CVD, and its management is necessary in preventing the need for surgical intervention [36]. Drug abuse indicators like "OpiateEverRegularFlag" are also shown as influential features of cardiovascular problems [37,38]. In conclusion, the feature importance bar chart provides a valuable insight into the range of factors that the machine learning model has identified as significant in predicting the need for cardiovascular surgical intervention.…”

Opium alkaloids, biosynthesis, pharmacology and association with cancer occurrence

“…Cancer is characterized as a rapid and abnormal cell growth that has the potential to spread to different organs of the body, also known as neoplasia or malignancy. The number of risk factors for developing cancer is attributed to environmental agents, lifestyle-related factors [ 75 , 76 ] and behavioural factors [ 77 ]. In behavioural factors, opium addiction and smoking are primary risk factors for several cancers [ 78 ].…”