Alterations in Blood Coagulation and Viscosity Among Young Male Cigarette Smokers of Al-Jouf Region in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Hemorheology, a measure of rheological properties of blood, is often correlated with cerebral blood flow and cardiac output; an increased blood viscosity may increase the risk of thrombosis or thromboembolic events. Previous studies have reported a large variation in hemorheological properties of blood among smokers. This prompted us to conduct coagulation experiments to evaluate the effect of cigarette smoking on hematological parameters, like cell counts, and coagulation parameters among young males in Al-Jouf region, Saudi Arabia. The hematological and coagulation parameters were used to relate the changes in viscosity and coagulation to smoking. A total of 321 male participants (126 nonsmokers and 195 smokers) were enrolled into the study as randomized sample. Complete blood count was measured by hematology analyzer, and coagulation tests were performed by coagulation analyzer. The t test analysis was performed to compare the relationships of variables between the 2 groups. The results confirmed that smoking alters some hematology parameters leading to significant deterioration in blood flow properties. Smoking also increased the hematocrit (HCT), whole blood viscosity (WBV), and plasma viscosity (PV) but decreased the international normalized ratio (INR). The decrease in INR was found to be associated with the increase in WBV, PV, and HCT. Further investigations are necessary to assess the reversibility of such changes in cessation of smoking or other elements of influence.