Effect of heavy cigarette and water pipe smoking on antioxidants and lipids in Sudanese male smokers: a case-control study

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoking is a source of many toxins such as free radicals, mutagenic substances as well as cause for developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD), particularly atherosclerosis. This study aims to assess the impact of smoking on antioxidants in Sudanese male smokers. METHODS: Cases were 85 and 48 men who smoke cigarettes (CS) and water pipe (WPS) respectively and they were compared with matching 50 non-smoking controls. Blood samples were collected and following parameters: Glutathione peroxidase, Superoxide dismutase, Total cholesterol, Triglyceride, LDL, HDL, Paraoxinase, and Malondialdehyde were measured. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in biochemical parameters between light CS and WPS compared to controls. In heavy smokers of both WPS and CS, the TC, TG, LDL, and MDA were higher than controls (p>0.05), GPx, SOD, HDL, and PON were lower in smokers than controls (p>0.05). In both groups of smokers; HDL, GPx, SOD, and PON were inversely correlated with duration of smoking (p>0.05), also, HDL was positively correlated with SOD and GPx (p>0.05). Moreover, GPx and SOD were correlated with each other in both groups of smokers (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: In Sudanese male smokers' biochemical profile disturbances suggest that heavy smoking was leading to developing CVD, particularly WPS.