Prevalencia de dislipidemia en los fumadores que acuden a un programa de ayuda para dejar de fumar

background: tobacco smoking is one of the major modifiable cardiovascular risk factors. the relationship between smoking and lipid disorders has been studied; however, its prevalence among smokers from our smoking cessation clinic (scc) "dra. carmen gutiérrez de velasco " at the instituto nacional de enfermedades respiratorias ismael cosío villegas is unknown. objective: to describe the lipid profile of smokers at our scc and its prevalence in this population. methods: 700 medical records from patients admitted to the clinic during a three- year period from 2003 to 2005 were studied. we analyzed the prevalence of their atherogenic lipid profile defined as high serum total cholesterol and triglycerides and low hdl-cholesterol. in addition, we studied the prevalence of each component of the lipid profile, according to a gender and a number of cigarettes (cig) smoked per day. results: the prevalence of atherogenic lipid profile, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and low hdl-cholesterol was 21%, 50% 56% and 55%, respectively. their total serum cholesterol and triglycerides levels were high and hdl-cholesterol was low (ct 204 ± 44 mg/dl, tg 208 ± 155 mg/dl, hdl 46 ± 14 mg/dl). those who smoked more than 20 cig/day had higher triglycerides and lower hdl-cholesterol than those smoking less than 20 cig/day (225 ± 162 mg/dl vs 185 ± 134 mg/dl, p = 0.02 and 44.2 ± 12 mg/dl vs 48 ± 14 mg/dl, p<0.001, respectively). women had higher hdl-cholesterol than men (51 ± 14 mg/dl vs 40.3 ± 11 mg/dl, p < 0.001). conclusion: the high prevalence of an atherogenic lipid profile in smokers makes them prone to develop premature atherosclerosis. this study underscores the importance of lipid disorders research in smokers.