Is smoking a risk factor for metabolic syndrome?

Abstract

Background. We define metabolic syndrome as a non-random collective incidence of glucose metabolism disorders related to insulin resistance, central obesity, dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension and other factors which contribute to increased risk of ischemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus type 2. Smoking is one of the most significant risk factors for ischemic heart disease.

Objectives and methods. A prospective analysis of 125 patients (75 men and 50 women) with the averageage of 57.3 years. A subset of smokers was composed of 59 patients; the average number of cigarettes smoked per day was 18 pieces. A subset of non-smokers was composed of 66 patients. We examined the presence of metabolic syndrome components according to the International Diabetic Federation criteria for the European population throughout the whole set of patients.

Results. Percentually higher incidence of metabolic syndrome occurred in the group of non-smokers. The incidence of metabolic syndrome in the group of smokers was significantly influenced by their age. Arterial hypertension and impaired fasting glucose were the most frequent components of metabolic syndrome in the subset of smokers with metabolic syndrome. In the subset of non-smokers with metabolic syndrome arterial hypertension was the most frequently found component.

Conclusion. The results of the research did not show statistically significantly increased or decreased incidence of metabolic syndrome in case of smokers. We did not find any relation between the number of cigarettes smoked per day and metabolic syndrome development.