Impact of chronic cigarette smoking on platelet aggregation and coagulation profile in apparently healthy male smokers

Metta Sandhya; Uppala Satyanarayana; Shruti Mohanty; Doddamani R Basalingappa

Metta Sandhya Department of Physiology, Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad, Telangana, India.
Uppala Satyanarayana Department of Biochemistry, Dr. Pinnamaneni Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Foundation, Gannavaram, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Shruti Mohanty Departments of Biochemistry, Nalgonda, Telangana, India
Doddamani R Basalingappa Physiology, Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences, Narketpally, Nalgonda, Telangana, India.

Keywords: Coagulation, duration of smoking, hemostatic dysfunctions, platelet aggregation

Abstract

Background and Aim: Chronic cigarette smoking affects the normal hemostasis by influencing the coagulation pathways. However, the effect of smoking intensity on the degree of impairment of coagulation cascade still remains unclear. The present study was undertaken to assess the impact of smoking on the coagulation cascade and to study the association of smoking duration with coagulation defects. Methods: A total of 120 apparently healthy subjects were enrolled for our study, were subsequently divided into 60 chronic smokers and 60 nonsmokers. The smokers group was further divided into group‑1 (5-15 pack years) and group‑2 (>15 pack years) depending on the duration of smoking. All the subjects were evaluated for complete hemogram, platelet count, mean platelet volume, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and platelet aggregation. Results: The platelet count was significantly (P < 0.05) lower, APTT was significantly shorter (P < 0.001) and platelet aggregability was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in smokers. Smokers with >15 pack years of duration had significantly high platelet aggregation and shorter APTT compared to smokers with 5-15 pack years. Pearson correlation analysis suggested a strong negative correlation between platelet count and APTT with duration of smoking (r = −0.557 and r = −0.342, respectively). Conclusion: Chronic smokers tend to have lower platelet count, shorter APTT, and higher platelet aggregability compared to non-smokers. Therefore, chronic smokers should be investigated for hemostatic dysfunctions.