Effects of smoking on blood pressure and proteinuria in patients with diabetic nephropathy.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of smoking on blood pressure and proteinuria in hypertensive diabetic patients with nephropathy.


METHODS
Controlled, randomized, cross-over study.


METHODS
Tertiary care centre, University Hospital of Düsseldorf, Germany.


METHODS
A total of 25 subjects were recruited, each of whom smoked at least 20 cigarettes a day: 10 normotensive healthy volunteers and 15 hypertensive type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetic outpatients with diabetic retinopathy and persistent micro- or macroalbuminuria; 10 diabetic patients had normal autonomic function test, whilst five patients showed signs of autonomic neuropathy.


METHODS
Controlled smoking or nonsmoking over a period of 8 h on separate days.


METHODS
Blood pressure was measured every 10 min with an automatic device and urine samples were collected every 3 h.


RESULTS
Systolic blood pressure increased during smoking in controls (mean) (11.5 mmHg, P = 0.0001) and in diabetic patients without autonomic neuropathy (7.9 mmHg; P = 0.018), but not in patients with autonomic neuropathy (-2.4 mmHg; P = 0.792). Diastolic blood pressure increased during smoking in controls (6.2 mmHg; P = 0.019) but not in diabetic patients (2.5 mmHg; P = 0.204. 0.2 mmHg; P = 0.956). During smoking, median proteinuria and albuminuria increased in diabetic patients without autonomic neuropathy (8.1 mg mmol-1 creatinine, P = 0.002; and 2.6 mg mmol creatinine, P = 0.084). No significant changes in albuminuria or proteinuria occurred in the other two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Smoking increases blood pressure values in healthy subjects and in hypertensive patients with diabetic nephropathy and without autonomic neuropathy. This effect of smoking may be partly responsible for the faster progression of diabetic nephropathy in smoking diabetic patients.
Sawicki
P T
PT
Department of Metabolic Diseases and Nutrition, WHO Collaborating Centre for Diabetes, Heinrich-Heine University of Düsseldorf, Germany.
Mühlhauser
I
I
Bender
R
R
Pethke
W
W
Heinemann
L
L
Berger
M
M
D000328:Adult; D001342:Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D011507:Proteinuria / Q000150:complications* / Q000652:urine; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*