The effects of smoking on blood lipids, C-reactive protein, and homocysteine in young patients with ischemic stroke

Abstract

Objective: To investigate clinical significance of the effects of smoking on blood lipids, C-reactive protein, and homocysteine in young ischemic stroke patients. Methods: The clinical data of 423 young stroke patients in the department of neurology at Taihe Hospital in Shiyan City, China were retrospectively analyzed, including age, gender, drinking history, family history, and atrial fibrillation history. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they smoked, and the blood lipids, C-reactive protein, and homocysteine were compared between groups. Results: The proportion of smokers was 41.83%. The levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), and homocysteine were higher in patients who smoked than in those who did not (P＜0.05). High density lipoprotein (HDL) was lower in the smoking group (P＜0.05). C-reactive protein test results were divided into groups according to whether the levels exceeded the normal range or not, and no correlation was found between C-reactive protein levels and smoking (P＞0.05). Conclusion: Total cholesterol, TG, LDL, HDL, and homocysteine were significantly different between stroke patients who smoked and those who did not. We therefore suggest that smoking cessation take place as soon as possible and that it be avoided entirely in order to reduce the incidence of atherosclerosis and stroke.

Keywords

ischemic stroke / blood lipids / C-reactive protein / homocysteine / smoking