DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2016.v04i11.055

Pages: 4141-4145

Cigarette smoking is an established cardiovascular risk factor and the leading preventable cause of coronary artery disease in most of the developed world. However, it remains unclear whether the smokeless tobacco is also responsible for same deleterious effect on cardiovascular health. We planned this study with an aim to assess endothelial dysfunction and measurement of hs CRP an inflammatory mediator as an early atherosclerotic marker of cardiovascular risk in smokeless tobacco users. In a hospital based, case control study, fifty smokeless tobacco users for at least 3 years and 50 age gender and BMI-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled. Anthropometric measurements, biochemical parameters, Flow mediated vasodilatation (FMD) and high sensitive C reactive protein (HsCRP) were assessed in all study subjects. The mean duration of smokeless tobacco consumption was 8 ± 3.5 years. HDL cholesterol was low and fasting insulin was significantly higher in smokeless tobacco users than the controls. FMD was found to be reduced in smokeless tobacco users while Hs CRP was not significantly different in two groups. Our study revealed that smokeless tobacco use is associated with endothelial dysfunction which is an indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to clarify the association between smokeless tobacco use and pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.