The Acute Effect of Cigarette Smoking on the High-Sensitivity CRP and Fibrinogen Biomarkers in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

• DOI: 10.2217/bmm.12.112
• Publication Date: 2013-04-03T10:48:32Z
• Authors: Wouter D van Dijk; Reinier Akkermans; Yvonne Heijdra; Chris van Weel; Tjard RJ Schermer; Paul TJ Scheepers; Jacques WM Lenders
• Keywords: Adult; Aged, 80 and over; Male; N4i 1: Pathogenesis and modulation of inflammation NCEBP 3: Implementation Science; NCEBP 7: Effective primary care and public health; Smoking; Fibrinogen; N4i 1: Pathogenesis and modulation of inflammation; NCEBP 7: Effective primary care and public health N4i 3: Poverty-related infectious diseases; Middle Aged; NCEBP 1: Molecular epidemiology; 3. Good health; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; 03 medical and health sciences; C-Reactive Protein; 0302 clinical medicine; NCEBP 3: Implementation Science; Humans; Female; NCEBP 14: Cardiovascular diseases; Biomarkers; Aged

The evidence on the acute effects of smoking on biomarkers is limited. Our aim was to study the acute effect of smoking on disease-related biomarkers.The acute effect of smoking on serum high sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) and plasma fibrinogen and its association with disease severity was studied by challenging 31 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with cigarette smoking and repeatedly measuring these biomarkers before and after smoking.Fibrinogen and hs-CRP increased directly after smoking by 9.4 mg/dl (95% CI: 4.2-14.5) and 0.13 mg/l (95% CI: 0.03-0.23), respectively. Fibrinogen levels remained elevated after 35 min, whereas hs-CRP normalized. Pearson's correlation coefficient between the hs-CRP change and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease severity was 0.25 (p = 0.06).Fibrinogen and hs-CRP increased directly after smoking in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Their association with disease risk and/or progression remains to be demonstrated.