Effect of smoking on vitamin A, vitamin E, and other trace elements in patients with cardiovascular disease in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

This cross-sectional study included 100 adults hospitalized with heart disease in Bangladesh. The major variables of interest included mean serum concentrations of trace elements and proportion of subjects with bacterial growth on throat swab culture.Smokers had significantly lower serum concentrations of retinol, alpha-tocopherol, selenium, and zinc and increased concentrations of copper. Throat swab cultures were more often positive for Streptococcus β-hemolyticus in smokers than controls.Smoking decreases serum concentrations of trace elements. Smoking control programs are needed in Bangladesh to improve health and nutrition of the people who are already nutritionally deficient.Smoking is a widely accepted practice in Bangladeshi men and is associated with socialising, sharing, and male identity [1]. According to an earlier cross-sectional study, approximately 50% of males and 3% of females are tobacco smokers in Bangladesh [2]. Although smoking is a recognized risk factor for several diseases including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer [3-5], very little is known about the nutritional consequences of smoking. In animal models, administration of benzo(a)pyrene, a constituent present in cigarette smoke induced vitamin A depletion [6]. Vitamin A deficiency per se causes emphysema. Some other trace elements, such as iron, zinc, and vitamin E were found to be deficient among healthy smokers compared to non-smokers. However, the available data are inconsistent regarding the effect of smoking on trace elements. In this study, we documented the effect of different doses of smoking on trace elements among hospitalized patients with heart disease in Bangladesh.A cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 male patients admitted to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (NICVD), Dhaka, Bangladesh from January through December 1998, after obtaining informed consent from the participants. The study protocol was reviewed and approv