Chromosome aberrations among cigarette smokers in Colombia

Worldwide, the annual morbimortality caused by cigarette smoking is a major public health concern. In Colombia, up to 33% of the adult population has smoked at some point in life, raising important national issues on the disease burden from tobacco. The aim of this study was to establish whether cig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mutation research. Genetic toxicology and environmental mutagenesis 2004-08, Vol.562 (1), p.67-75
Main Authors: Sierra-Torres, Monica S, Arboleda-Moreno, Yexania Y, Hoyos, Luz S, Sierra-Torres, Carlos H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Chromosome aberrations
Colombia
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
Genotoxicity
Medical sciences
Smoking
Tobacco, tobacco smoking
Toxicology
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Summary:Worldwide, the annual morbimortality caused by cigarette smoking is a major public health concern. In Colombia, up to 33% of the adult population has smoked at some point in life, raising important national issues on the disease burden from tobacco. The aim of this study was to establish whether cigarette smoking increases the frequency of chromosome aberrations (CA) in peripheral blood lymphocytes of smokers ( n = 52) compared with non-smokers ( n = 52) in Popayán, Colombia. After signing a consent form, volunteers provided a blood sample (20 ml) to establish cell cultures at 52 h. For CA analysis, 100 complete metaphase cells from each subject were evaluated. The CA frequency was significantly higher in smokers (8.38 ± 0.61) than in non-smokers (3.13 ± 0.29), showing the highest number of CA (14.83 ± 1.01) among heavy smokers (>20 pack-years). Interestingly, light smokers (≤10 pack-years) also showed a significant increase in CA when compared to non-smokers (6.62 ± 0.53 versus 3.13 ± 0.29, P < 0.01, respectively). In addition, a significant positive correlation was found between the frequency of CA and the intensity of smoking in pack-years ( R 2 = 0.60). Our study indicates that the genotoxic effects in lymphocytes from smokers are most likely caused by cigarette smoke constituents, providing scientific evidence to encourage national campaigns to prevent tobacco consumption.
ISSN:1383-5718
1879-3592
DOI:10.1016/j.mrgentox.2004.05.006