lower immunity to tetanus in cigarette smoker subjects

background: cigarette smoking has been linked with the suppression of immune responses and increased susceptibility to numerous infections in humans. tetanus is also a major public health problem in many countries. the aim of the present study was to evaluate the serum levels of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies in c igarette smoking and healthy non-smoking people .   materials and methods: a total of 100 c igarette smokers and 100 age-matched healthy non-smoker individuals were enrolled in this descriptive study. a blood sample was collected from each participant. the samples were tested for the levels of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies b y use of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.   results: the seroprotective rate of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies in non-smoking group (99%) was significantly higher than that observed in c igarette smoking group (78%, p<0.0001). the mean titer of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies in non-smoking group ( 5.32± 0.26 iu/ml) was also significantly higher than that in smoker subjects ( 1.03 ± 0.16 iu/ml p<0.0001). the mean titer of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies in individuals with smoking duration >10 years was significantly lower than that among smokers with smoking duration ≤10 years (0.59 ± 0.12 iu/ml vs 1.98 ± 0.41 iu/ml p<0.001). the seroprotection rate was also significantly lower in persons with smoking duration >10 years in comparison to smokers with smoking duration ≤10 years (72.1% vs 90.6% p=0.037). the mean titer of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies in individuals with daily smoking >10 cigarettes was also significantly lower in comparison to smokers with daily smoking ≤10 cigarettes (0.68 ± 0.15 iu/ml vs 1.63 ± 0.36 iu/ml p<0.001).   conclusion: these results showed lower levels of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies in cigarette smokers which represents c igarette smoking as a risk factor for susceptibility to tetanus. a negative association was also observed between the immunity to tetanus and smoking burden.