Blood Pressure and Inflammation Parameter in the Healthy-Overweight Smoker in Yogyakarta

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The number of smokers in rural Indonesia is alarming. Overweight and smoking are the risk factor for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cancer. Cigarette smoke and overweight elevated oxidative stress and affected the blood pressure and inflammation response. However, the relationship between blood pressure and the response to inflammation in overweight-healthy smokers was unclear. AIM: We have conducted a preliminary study to determine the difference in blood pressure and inflammatory parameters on overweight and non-overweight in healthy smokers. METHODS: We have conducted a study with a cross-sectional design. Thirty-seven healthy smokers are the number of subjects who participated in our study; 20 were overweight, and the other 17 subjects were non-overweight. The smokers consumed 5–12 cigarettes/day regularly for at least 5 years. Furthermore, smokers were diagnosed in healthy condition by the doctor in the primary health care. Blood was drawn from the cubital vein by professionals. Hematology and inflammatory parameters were examined using a hematology analyzer and an ELISA method. We used the t-test to determine the mean difference in parameters between groups. RESULTS: The study of 37 healthy volunteers who smoked showed that overweight status had higher blood pressure and IL-1 levels than the non-overweight. There was a difference in mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure and IL-1 levels between the overweight and non-overweight groups (p < 0.05). The overweight status was in accordance with the mean of BMI and body weight (p < 0.05). There were no differences in cholesterol, triglyceride levels and hemogram profiles, and other cytokines between the two groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: We concluded that the overweight group had higher blood pressure and IL-1 levels than the non-overweight group of healthy smokers.