Implications for Comorbidities, Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy, and Inflammation in Current Smokers

Abstract Background . Evaluate comorbidities, childhood abuse and inflammation in current heavy-smokers compared to light-smokers and never-smokers. Methods . Current-Smokers (n=129) and never-smokers (n=85) were screened for the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances, and assessed for nicotine dependence and childhood trauma. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and its receptors (sTNFR1 and sTNFR2), leptin, lipid hydroperoxide and lipid profile biomarkers were measured after overnight fasting. Results . Current-smokers presented higher prevalence of major depressive disorder (PR = 1.79, CI 95% [1.36-2.37], p Limitations . This is an exploratory cross-sectional study which did not allow us to delineate associations or causality of the events. The group of never-smokers presented significantly more years of education than current-smokers. The age of our sample ranged from 18 to 65 years-old, which do not allow the generalization to older or younger population. Finally, maternal smoking was collected retrospectively based on participants’ reports. Conclusion . Our study suggests an opportunity to identify current-smokers who had co-occurring clinical and psychiatric comorbidities and childhood trauma, and to offer them the opportunity of personalized treatments.