Comparative study of hematological profile among smokers and non-smokers in rural part of South India

Background: Tobacco cigarette smoking is one of the major leading causes of death throughout the world. Smoking has both acute and chronic effect on hematological parameters. The aim of the present study was to assess the extent of adverse effects of cigarette smoking on biochemical characteristics in healthy smokers. Materials and methods: Totally 68 subjects were included in the study. 34 current smokers who came from in and around Chidambaram to the RMMC and Hospital who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected as an experimental group. Another 34 non-smokers of the same age group were included separately in this study as a control group. So a total of 68 respondents were contacted for the study. The primary data were collected for 6 months in the year 2017. Hematological parameters were analyzed using standard methods. Results: The mean Hb level in smokers was less than that of the nonsmokers and it was significant at 5% level (p<0.05). Regarding the differential, count means eosinophil and polymorph values were high in the smokers but the lymphocyte value was less in smokers and these changes were significant at 1% level (p<0.01). The WBC-Total count and the ESR value changes were nonsignificant. Conclusion: Effects of smoking on alterations of the hemostatic and fibrinolytic system, antioxidant status and hematology parameters were extensively studied, but the studies presented inconsistent results. The present study was conducted to compare the effect of cigarette smoking on some hematological parameters between smokers and age-matched non-smoker controls.