Relationship of cigarette smoking to blood pressure and serum lipids and lipoproteins in men

1. The relationship of cigarette smoking to blood pressure and serum lipids and lipoproteins was studied in 7608 men, ranging from 40 to 59 years of age. Analyses were performed separately for non-drinkers and drinkers. 2. After adjusting age and body mass index (BMI) in non-drinkers and age, BMI and alcohol intake in drinkers in forward stepwise multiple regression analysis, there was a dose-dependent negative relationship between cigarette smoking and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), regardless of drinking habit. There was a dose-dependent positive relationship between cigarette smoking and the ratio of total cholesterol (TC) to HDL-C (TC:HDL-C) in non-drinkers, but not in drinkers. There was a dose-dependent negative relationship between cigarette smoking and TC and a positive relationship between cigarette smoking and triglycerides (TG) in drinkers, but not in non-drinkers. 3. After matching age and BMI in non-drinkers, subjects who smoked more than 30 cigarettes/day had significantly lower mean values of systolic blood pressure (SBP; 4.3%; P < 0.05), DBP (3.0%; P < 0.01) and HDL-C (15.5%; P < 0.01) and higher mean values of TC:HDL-C (25.0%; P < 0.01), TG (46.8%; P < 0.01) and beta-lipoprotein (12.0%; P < 0.01) than non-smokers. In drinkers, after matching age, BMI, and alcohol intake, subjects who smoked more than 30 cigarettes/day had significantly lower mean values of SBP (2.8%; P < 0.05), DBP (4.8%; P < 0.01), HDL-C (17.3%; P < 0.01) and TC (4.4%; P < 0.01) and higher mean values of TC:HDL-C (15.4%; P < 0.01) and TG (45.1%; P < 0.01) than non-smokers. 4. Although the results are somewhat variable, the present study reveals that cigarette smoking is negatively associated with SBP and DBP and unfavourably associated with lipids and lipoproteins, regardless of drinking habit.