Association of smoking with redox biomarkers and cardiometabolic risk factors in elder individuals

Abstract Background Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide, and is considered an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Objective To investigate the association of smoking with sex, redox metabolism and cardiometaboic risk factors of 381 elderly from the Family Health Strategy of Porto Alegre. Method To categorize smoking, followed by the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control (CDC). We studied the following oxidative stress markers investigated: advanced products of protein oxidation (AOPP), nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), the antioxidant capacity was measured by Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma (FRAP). Cardiometabolic risk factors were also evaluated. Results Regarding sex/smoking, women are more often non-smokers (P = 0.001). Former male smokers had higher concentrations of FRAP (P = 0.001), and smokers had higher concentration of NOx (0.012), lower average waist circumference-WC (P = 0.017), body mass index-BMI (P = 0.003) and increased HDL-c levels (P = 0.003). There were found significant results among women. Conclusion The elderly male smokers presented lower values of WC, BMI and HDL-c, but smokers presented increased NOx concentration, which is a oxidative stress biomarker associated with cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, it is important to emphasize the importance in preventing and adhering to smoking cessation to avoid cardiovascular comorbidities..