The influence of cigarette and qalyan (hookah) smoking on serum nitric oxide metabolite concentration

Objective: To assess the effect of exposure to cigarette and qalyan (hookah) smoking on serum nitric oxide (NO) metabolites (NOx) concentration. Material and methods: Fasting serum NOx was measured by the Griess method in 333 men free of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease selected from participants of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. Subjects were classified into active and passive cigarette smokers and they were age-matched with the non-smoker groups (n = 93/group). Twenty-seven qalyan smokers were also included in the study with their age-matched controls. Results: Multivariable-adjustment serum NOx values were compared between groups by analysis of covariance. Serum NOx was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the active smokers [28.9 mu mol/L (95% CI 26.2-32.0)] compared to nonsmokers [24.1 mu mol/L (95% CI 21.8-26.7)]. A positive correlation was found between serum NOx and the number of cigarettes smoked per day (r = 0.222, p < 0.05). Qalyan smokers had higher serum NOx levels compared to the non-smoker controls [34.3 mu mol/L (95% CI 27.8-42.3) vs. 22.5 mu mol/L (95% CI 18.4-27.6), p < 0.01]. Conclusion: Active cigarette and qalyan smoking are associated with high serum NOx levels.