Smoking Habits and Their Association with Total Leukocytes Count among Healthy Men in Karachi, Pakistan

Cigarette smoking is associated with alterations in inflammatory markers among smokers. The present study was carried out to examine the association between smoking habits and total leukocytes count in a group of clinically healthy smokers. The study group consisted of 365 clinically healthy men, aged 20-60 years. Subjects were classified into different groups on the basis of their smoking habits and relationship between their smoking characteristics and total leukocytes count was investigated. Compared with nonsmokers, current smokers showed significantly high values of total leukocytes count (P<0.001). Among smokers total leukocytes count was found to be positively associated with intensity of smoking, pack-year and duration of smoking (P<0.001). Ex-smokers, even who had quit smoking for more than three years prior to the study, showed somewhat elevated levels of leukocytes count as compared to nonsmokers. These findings suggest a marked influence of smoking characteristics on increased leukocytes count which may persists long, even after smoking cessation.